Ancapagari
Now these people are buried. The root-taking, finished. Buried in everything, thousands taken root. The roots swell, nesting. Openings widen for the roots to surface.
They sway within you in steady wind of your breath. You are forever swinging between this being and another, one being and another. There is a word for it crawling in your mouth each night. Speak it.
Ancapagari has circled, returned to these highlands. The yellow pines deathless, the sparrow hawks scull, the waters are going numb. Ancapagari longs to be spoken in each tongue. It is the name of the god who has come from among us.
Carolyn Forché, “Ancapagari” from Gathering the Tribes. Copyright © 1976 by Carolyn Forché. Reprinted with the permission of Yale University Press, http://www.yale.edu/yup/.
Discover this poem’s context and related poetry, articles, and media.
Poet Carolyn Forché b. 1950
POET’S REGION U.S., New England
Subjects Heroes & Patriotism, Mythology & Folklore
Poetic Terms Prose Poem
Poems by Carolyn Forché
Poem Categorization
SUBJECT Heroes & Patriotism, Mythology & Folklore
POET’S REGION U.S., New England
Poetic Terms Prose Poem
If you disagree with this poem's categorization, make a suggestion.





Essential American Poets: Carolyn Forché: Essential American Poets