Photo: Rex Lott
A finalist for the Publishing Triangle’s Thom Gunn Award for Gay Poetry, 13th Balloon by Mark Bibbins is published by Copper Canyon Press. The editor is Michael Wiegers. The winner will be announced on May 12. Here’s an excerpt from the single long poem that comprises this book:
IL 4 NOVEMBRE 1966 L’ACQUA
D’ARNO ARRIVÒ A QUEST’ALTEZZA
This year I should turn fifty
twice as old as you were when you died
One night the year before you were born
the Arno flooded the city of Florence
and now when people walk
down certain Florentine streets
or into certain churches or museums
they can still see a smudge several feet
above their heads
often with a small plaque
next to it to indicate
that this was the level the water reached
There are days when everything
feels like a metaphor
for your having died
There are days
when nothing does
From 13th Balloon © 2020, by Mark Bibbins. Reprinted with permission of Copper Canyon Press. All rights reserved.