To C

To C

By Forrest Gander b. 1956 Forrest Gander
Inside, inside the return, inside, the hero diminishes.
Over her vessel they place a veil, and when it is lifted
the name of the vessel has been lost. Consider
the darkness of the water which has no scent
and neither can it swallow. Yet the ship’s bow
extends over the proscenium like a horse
at a fence and the orchestra stands and files out.
On the long walk home, I long to see your face.

Forrest Gander, “To C” from Torn Awake. Copyright © 1996 by Forrest Gander. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation.

Source: Torn Awake (New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1996)

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Poet Forrest Gander b. 1956

POET’S REGION U.S., New England

Subjects Activities, Travels & Journeys, Relationships, Mythology & Folklore, Heroes & Patriotism

Poetic Terms Free Verse

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Forrest Gander

Biography

Born in California’s Mojave Desert, poet Forrest Gander grew up in Virginia and attended the College of William & Mary, where he majored in geology. After receiving an MA in literature from San Francisco State University, Gander moved to Mexico, then to Arkansas, where his poetry—informed by his knowledge of geology—turned its attention to landscape as foreground or source of action.

Gander’s books of poetry include Eye Against . . .

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SUBJECT Activities, Travels & Journeys, Relationships, Mythology & Folklore, Heroes & Patriotism

POET’S REGION U.S., New England

Poetic Terms Free Verse

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Originally appeared in Poetry magazine.

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