February 12th is Abraham Lincoln's Birthday!

Daguerreotype of Abraham Lincoln at age 54, 1863

Tuesday,  February 12, 2103 -- Abraham Lincoln, "Honest Abe," our 16th President of these United States, was born 204 years ago on  February 12, 1809, in Hodgenville, Kentucky, U.S.A.  He served as President from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865, and is probably best remembered for leading and preserving the nation during the American Civil War and for issuing his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, leading to the abolition of slavery in this country in 1865.


In celebration of Lincoln's birthday, here is "For Lincoln," a poem by Austin Alexis, with an illustration by Charles Haywood Johnson, from Austin's book, "For Lincoln & Other Poems" (Poets Wear Prada 2010):

“Abe” by Charles Haywood Johnson

FOR LINCOLN (1809-1865)
by Austin Alexis


I.

Your old-man skin
worn on your
young-man posture
in a youthful country
about to grow up fast.


II.

You went to the theatre
not knowing
and not wanting to know.
All that red velvet!
And you didn’t pay heed
to the color.


III.

What suit, what formality
did your wife package you in
as she, understandably, unraveled ...


IV.

The memorial pictures you
with monumental hands,
eyes eying the land,
and a huge face
housing a subtle smile.

For Lincoln & Other Poems
by Austin Alexis
ISBN 978-0-9841844-3-9
6" x 9" Saddle Stitched, 34pp.
$10.00 (+ $2 S&H by Mail Order)
Release Date: March 2010
Available at Babbo's Books
242 Prospect Park West
Brooklyn, NY 11215
www.babbosbooks.com
Phone: 718.788.3475
Perfect Bound Edition Now Available from Create Space:
www.createspace.com/3440550
And on Amazon:
www.amazon.com/Lincoln-Other-Poems-Austin-Alexis/dp/0984184430/