Now that I’m forty eight my shoulder
aches where Goliath wrenched it
my brain flakes like a rusty iron sword
and when I recall what I did to Uriah
my heart quakes but thank God my

pen still glides across the blank page
cool fluid and elusive as a green snake

Sam Magavern is senior policy fellow at Partnership for the Public Good. He teaches at University at Buffalo Law School and Cornell University ILR School. His publications include a non-fiction book, Primo Levi’s Universe, and two books of poetry, Noah’s Ark and Ovid’s Creek. He is the founder of the Calamus Project, which brings Walt Whitman’s poetry to life through films, songs, and performances.