David McAleavey

THE WHITMAN ISSUE

David McAleavey

INVENTION OF THE SONNET

the loveliest hair in the world encircling a head, a real
head, eyed with the warmest or the most changeable eyes,
& that nose, & a mouth & throat whose voice always pleases
(as Whitman has said voices always do, & this one being no

exception); all that, & a neck & shoulders, arms srtong
enough to hold, a back hard as anyone's to scratch, breasts
honest as facts, each more or less where it is expected;
& skin all around, full of detail; a navel, & yes, the other

standard equipment, including ankles meant for walking, toes
just right for wiggling, a couple of callouses to remind you
you're human--even if, sprouting from your ankles, two

golden wings have begun to flutter, my devices for showing
you all the excitement you've been the cause of: there's
no such thing, for me, as the calm acceptance of desire.

David McAleavey is the Director of the Creative Writing Program in the English Department at George Washington University, where he teaches creative writing and American and English literature, especially poetry. He's had four books of poems published, a chapbook (David McAleavey: Greatest Hits 1971-2000, Pudding House Publications, 2001), and his newest book, Huge Haiku, is forthcoming from Chax Press.