Appeal

To The Republic of Poetry

Appeal, by Aimee Liu

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Welcome to Metaphortography, a quick dose of visual and literary inspiration to launch your writing week. This is the Monday section of Aimee Liu’s MFA Lore, where you receive the essence of an MFA in creative writing— minus the tuition. MFA Lore’s Writer In The World section posts on Wednesdays. Writers in Conversation and other MFA Lore essays on the craft and business of creative writing drop each Saturday.

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The Republic of Poetry

by Martín Espada

1957 –

^{For Chile}

In the republic of poetry,
a train full of poets
rolls south in the rain
as plum trees rock
and horses kick the air,
and village bands
parade down the aisle
with trumpets, with bowler hats,
followed by the president
of the republic,
shaking every hand.

In the republic of poetry,
monks print verses about the night
on boxes of monastery chocolate,
kitchens in restaurants
use odes for recipes
from eel to artichoke,
and poets eat for free.

In the republic of poetry,
poets read to the baboons
at the zoo, and all the primates,
poets and baboons alike, scream for joy.

In the republic of poetry,
poets rent a helicopter
to bombard the national palace
with poems on bookmarks,
and everyone in the courtyard
rushes to grab a poem
fluttering from the sky,
blinded by weeping.

In the republic of poetry,
the guard at the airport
will not allow you to leave the country
until you declaim a poem for her
and she says Ah! Beautiful.

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Copyright © 2006 by Martín Espada. From The Republic of Poetry (W. W. Norton, 2006). Reprinted from Split This Rock’s The Quarry: A Social Justice Poetry Database.

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