Unnatural State of the Unicorn
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Introduce me first as a man. Don't mention superficial laurels the dead heap up on the living. I am a man. Cut me & I bleed. Before embossed limited editions, before fat artichoke hearts marinated in rich sauce & served with imported wines, before antics & Agnus Dei, before the stars in your eyes mean birth sign or Impression, I am a man. I've scuffled in mudholes, broken teeth in a grinning skull like the moon behind bars. I've done it all to be known as myself. No titles. I have principles. I won't speak on the natural state of the unicorn in literature or self-analysis. I have no birthright to prove, no insignia, no secret password, no fleur-de-lis. My initials aren't on a branding iron. I'm standing here in unpolished shoes & faded jeans, sweating my manly sweat. Inside my skin, loving you, I am the space my body believes in.
Yusef Komunyakaa, the subject of this issue of Callaloo, teaches at Princeton University. His most recent book of poems is Taboo: The Wishbone Trilogy, Part I. The numerous prizes, awards and honors he has received for his poetry include a chancellorship with the American Academy of Poets, the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (Wesleyan University), the William Faulkner Prize (Universite Rennes, France), the Kingsley Tufts Award for Poetry, and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
