I first read this poem in the anthology “Bullets Into Bells: Poets & Citizens Respond to Gun Violence.” This poem appeared alongside Kate Ranta’s description of being shot by her ex-husband in front of her 4-year-old son. Dana Levin is the modern master of the em dash (Dickinson is the other). In the first section, the em dash mimics exhalation. In the second part, inhale. And in the last part, “Who offers love,/who offers terror -” it works more like a question mark. I also love how this poem instructs us through the imperative – meaning the poem gives us hope to envision and build a nonviolent future. Selected by Victoria Chang
Stop Instructions
By Dana Levin
Say Stop.
Keep your lips pressed together
after you get the . have said P:
(soon they will try it
pry
your breath out-)
†
whisper it
three times in a row:
Stop Stop Stop
In a hospital bed
like a coiled fish, someone’s
gasp-
How do you apply?
your breath?
†
List of all people
you would want
fuses.
who offers love,
who terror—
Write Stop.
Put a period at the end.
Decide if it’s a kiss
or a bullet.
Victoria Chang is a poet whose fifth collection of poems, “Obit” (Copper Canyon Press, 2020), was named a DailyExpertNews Notable Book and a Time Must-Read. Her nonfiction book, “Dear Memory: Letters on Writing, Silence and Grief,” was published by Milkweed Editions in 2021. She lives in Los Angeles and teaches in the MFA program at Antioch University. Dana Levin is a poet whose most recent book is “Now Do You Know Where You Are” (Copper Canyon Press, 2022), from which this poem is taken. Her awards include a Whiting Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship. She teaches creative writing at Maryville University, where she is a leading writer in residence.
