Poet laureate pens poem for Veterans Day
North's Carolina new poet laureate has written a poem to honor Veterans Day.
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North's Carolina new poet laureate has written a poem to honor Veterans Day.
Joseph Bathanti's poem "Saint Francis's Satyr Butterfly" celebrates veterans and their families. The poem is about a rare endangered butterfly found only in the United States at Fort Bragg.
"North Carolina, arguably the heart of the U.S. military establishment, is overflowing with unforgettable stories of veterans and their families," Bathani said.
Bathanti, who has conducted writing workshops inside prisons for more than three decades, said plans to create a model for writing workshops for veterans across the state.
Bathanti was named as the state's seventh poet laureate by Gov. Bev Perdue in September. He is a professor of creative writing at Appalachian State University.
Here’s the poem:
All creatures have the same source as we have. — Saint Francis of Assisi
white and yellow stigmatic suns
Saint Francis’s Satyr – christened
and POW turned mystic –
in 10 by 10 kilometers
of Fort Bragg – exact coordinates classified –
it has gone undetected. Shy, endangered,
in high artillery impact domains –
the fires triggered by bombardment.
resembles in its favored habitat –
a tiny standard issue
Parsed from the chrysalis,
the satyr blazes in desperate glory
in its imaginal stage,
Its gorgeous numbers dwindle.
We accept, on faith, metamorphosis.
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