The Messenger

Title Page, Copyright

T H E M E S S E N G E R I I Winner of the Iowa Poetry Prize T H E M E S S E N G E R by Stephanie Pippin U N I V E R S I T Y O F I O W A P R E S S I O W A C I T Y University of Iowa Press, Iowa City 52242 Copyright © 2013 by Stephanie Pippin www.uiowapress.org Printed in the United States of America Design by Omega Clay No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher. All reasonable steps have been taken to contact copyright holders of material used in this book. The publisher would be pleased to make suitable arrangements with any whom it has not been possible to reach. This is a work of poetry; any resemblance to actual events or persons is entirely coincidental. The University of Iowa Press is a member of Green Press Initiative and is committed to preserving natural resources. Printed on acid-free paper ISBN-13: 978-1-60938-164-6 ISBN-10: 1-60938-164-5 LCCN: 2012947366 For Andy Aimed at a distant bird, a flutter of white wings, he may feel—as it spreads out beneath him in a field of white— that he can never fail to strike. Everything he is has evolved to link the targeting eye to the striking talon. J. A. Baker We love the things we love for what they are. Robert Frost ...