Minnesota Poetry: Todd Boss’ “Ere We Are Aware”
It's been fun to watch Todd Boss' first book of poetry Yellowrocket take off like, well, a rocket (better that than to compare it to yellowrocket itself, which is a weed!). I've known Boss for years through his job as PR Director for the Playwrights' Center, but never would have suspected the man with the high energy, smiling eyes and great story pitch was also the source of beautiful poetry springing from deep introspection and more than a few dark days.
You can find out more about Todd Boss in this story by Euan Kerr, or at Boss' website. Meanwhile, here's a poem from Yellowrocket:
Ere We Are Aware
we err. We err
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in open air, dare-
devil as a swallow's
swerve. We err
with verve. Our errors serve
as bearings
as we flare and dive
and flounder.
We scare away our lovers
and declare
a territory where before
there wasn't any.
Later we share our feelings.
Say we're
sorry. Swear to be
more careful.
Oh, we show our showy words
like colors
and then, in a flurry of ever
rarer, ever
braver aerials, there
we are again,
famished birds wheeling
over burials.
- "Ere We Are Aware" by Todd Boss, as it appears in his collection Yellowrocket, published by W. W. Norton. Reprinted here with permission from the author.