United States, (b. 1983)
Pigs that Ran Straightaway into the Water, Triumph Of
- When Jesus casts demons into pigs,
- they leap from steep banks
- to sea. Some translations suggest
- lake. The water, salt or fresh,
- muffles a mania of snouts.
- The pigs drown. He is the lord
- I will never understand
- through human stories.
- In Cara’s photograph, newborn
- piglets suckle a Vermont sow.
- The sow gives of her flesh
- in dappled sunlight.
- She is clean & wise & noble,
- & her babies number seven, oh holy.
- No god would throw demons
- upon her. No god would send such beauty
- to drown.
10 Questions for Darla Himeles
August 23, 2021 – By Marissa PerezWhat inspired you to write “Pigs That Ran Straightaway into the Water, Triumph Of”?
…the Mountain Goats. I have a chapbook-in-process of poems inspired by lines or song titles by the Mountain Goats, and this poem is named after a song on their 2004 album, We Shall All Be Healed….
If you listen to or read John Darnielle’s lyrics for this song, you’ll encounter images and place names that are also significant in my own life and that also appear in other poems from Cleave, including my poem “Claremont, California, 1989,” which explores a formative moment in my emotional development, and “Chino, California,” which recalls picking my dad up from prison as a young adult. Full interview: https://www.massreview.org/node/9808
“Pigs That Ran Straightaway Into the Water, Triumph Of” by The Mountain Goats can be heard on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/4-1cL4loOw8
About the Poet:
Darla Himeles, United States, (b. 1983), is a poet, editor and educator. She has a PhD in American literature from Temple University, where she works as the assistant director of the Temple University Writing Center.
Himeles’ poetry has appeared in Orange Blossom Review, Lesbians are Miracles, The Massachusetts Review, The Night Heron Barks, New Ohio Review, NAILED and others.
Himeles is also a poetry editor at Platform Review and the author of the chapbook Flesh Enough (2017) and the full-length poetry collection Cleave (2021). [DES-01/22]
Additional information:
- Darla Himeles – web site: https://www.darlahimelespoetry.com/
- Darla Himeles – Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darlahimelespoetry
- Darla Himeles – Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darlahimelespoetry/