Poem "Self-Portrait as From Under the Cork Tree"

 

The poem of the day by the Academy of American Poets is "Self-Portrait as From Under the Cork Tree" by Aaron Tyler Hand ¹:

The unholy trinity of suburban late-night salvation

barring seemingly endless options of worship

bean burrito breadsticks and mashed potatoes

or a soft taco pan pizza and a buttered biscuit

an unimaginable combination of food flavors

for people not ready to go home to their parents

and yet none of the options feel quite right

so maybe I should call it Self-Portrait as idling

in a drive-thru with your friends crammed

across the sunken bench seats avoiding

the glow of the check engine light with black tape

pressed with a precision unseen anywhere else

in their lives as a fractured voice says don’t worry

take your time and order whenever you’re ready

from behind a menu backlit like the window

inside of a confessional booth as the hands

of the driver open up like a collection basket

for the wadded-up bills and loose change

that slowly stack up as the years go by

and I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be

in this analogy but I know about masking

warning signs and hearing out of tune

voices scream WE’RE THE KIDS WHO FEEL

LIKE DEAD ENDS so instead I’ll call it Self-

Portrait as From Under the Cork Tree

or maybe even Self-Portrait as whatever

album people listen to when they love

their friends and still want to feel connected

to the grass walls of a teenage wasteland

that they can’t help but run away from