Dieter with the Tulips, Munich, 1984 (Nan Goldin) by Alisha Dietzman
Dieter with the Tulips, Munich, 1984 (Nan Goldin)
Alisha DietzmanOf all the portraits, this. Spare
morning, Garden of Eden. Apples,tulips, butter-knife and the body
terrified of separation,from God—no, of separation.
I refuse to write another love poem.Dieter appears later on a train,
to Sweden; Dieter is maybe somewhere,still, flush with fruit, early light.
I can’t stop thinking about the same things:I am on a train, always, and you are there,
always, a metaphor. What else?
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SHARED WITH GRATITUDE
This poem appeared in Sontag Mag, 2025.
ABOUT ALISHA DIETZMAN
Alisha Dietzman is the author of Sweet Movie (Beacon, 2023), selected by Victoria Chang for the National Poetry Series. A finalist for the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, and the Oregon Book Award, Sweet Movie was also shortlisted for the John Pollard Foundation International Poetry Prize. Her chapbook, Slow Motion Something For No Reason (Factory Hollow Press, 2022), was the editors’ choice selection for the Tomaž Šalamun Prize. She received her MFA in Poetry from the University… (more)
Read more poems by Alisha Dietzman • Find books by this poet on Amazon • Bookshop • Follow on Instagram • Twitter • Website • Or view my library
ENDNOTES
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