Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon’s (CRF 2018) poem “Pole| |Sport” is featured on poem-a-day today, August 26th, 2022. Hear Lyrae read and reflect on the poem here.
We turn and turn ourselves
Into the question. We turn ourselves against
Its gravity. An axis we defy.
The idea spun
Current as—: an absolute
Value, faith presents a gift
For our unboxing—: between poles.
We are the line women.
Hungry-handed transformers
Handed lightning—: bolts, striking.
Who wants to address America?
When I stand in between
Two poles, I am the absolute value of
The lyric—: I have been
Where she stands.
Between poles she is the determinant
Of—: gravity. A force, she
Stands in| |for
Her own won now. Headline—:
No flag does justice.
She scales the staff
Herself—: unflagging,
She waves.
Copyright © 2022 by Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on August 26, 2022, by the Academy of American Poets.