On After Moving by Andrew Hemmert
By Juan J. Morales
Hello, I’m Juan J. Morales, an assistant professor of English at Colorado College and a poet in Pueblo, Colorado, here for Poets on the Plains. Today, I’m thrilled to share with you a poem by Andrew Hemmert, titled, “After Moving.”
Hemmert’s poem comes from his third poetry collection, No Longer at This Address, which was recently published in October by the University of Pittsburgh Press. This book is described as exploring “place and the psychology of leaving through the inflammatory lens of the American West.” It also visits “bison ranches in the Rocky Mountains…and find[s] complicated joy among wildfire ash and lost dogs. There is also scarily relatable reflection on high fire danger. There’s careful observation of nature in larger, sweeping moments and also within the beauty found amongst the weeds we regularly pass while walking. After Moving
In a room full of boxes, I am listening
to the rain falling on my roof for the first time.
It's March. Denver doesn't know
whether it wants to be spring. Or maybe
that's not the right way to say it.
Everywhere wants to be spring. Things bloom early
and hard frost drags the season back.
Here the birds start singing long before the sun
has shown any sliver of its arc. Here the birds are trying
to build a nest in a hole in the siding
above my back door. I chase them off,
but like shadows they wait
and return. It is impossible not to love them.
They are the color of roadside peaches.
Used with Permission.
Specific to “After Moving,” the poem brings us to the capricious springs in Colorado, which, as many know, cannot decide when winter is actually over. It is equally baffling to the plants and birds that make an appearance. The poem carries these insights about spring as symbols of conflicting emotions felt by the narrator. There is a mix of excitement and nervousness that comes with moving—how unpacking boxes can be daunting while it also can serve as a new start in a new place and the possibility of new growth.
The poem also focuses on the disruptions made by the birds, quite possibly mourning doves, who are trying to nest above the back door. Instead of being overtaken by anger, Andrew gifts us with the reminder at times we should not give in to when he says, “maybe / that’s not the right way to say it.” He brings the point home in the end, telling the reader “It is impossible not to love them” despite the obstacles the birds create.
Thank you for being with us for Poets on the Plains. I’m Juan J. Morales, coming to you from Pueblo, Colorado.
POETS ON THE PLAINS HOST
Juan J. Morales is the son of an Ecuadorian mother and Puerto Rican father and grew up in Colorado. He is the author of four poetry collections, including The Handyman’s Guide to End Times and his latest, Dream of the Bird Tattoo, published by the University of New Mexico Press. Recent poems have appeared in The Laurel Review, Breakbeats Vol. 4 LatiNEXT, Acentos Review, terrain.org, South Dakota Review, Sugar House Review, and Poetry. Morales has received fellowships from CantoMundo, Macondo, Longleaf Writers Conference, and he has served as the editor/publisher of Pilgrimage Press. He lives in Pueblo, Colorado and is an Assistant Professor of English at Colorado College. https://www.unmpress.com/9780826367587/dream-of-the-bird-tattoo/
FEATURED POET
Andrew Hemmert is the author of Blessing the Exoskeleton (University of Pittsburgh Press) and Sawgrass Sky (Texas Review Press). His third book, No Longer at This Address, will be published by the University of Pittsburgh Press in October 2025. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in various magazines including The Cincinnati Review, Copper Nickel, The Kenyon Review, Prairie Schooner, and The Southern Review. He currently lives in Thornton, Colorado. https://andrewhemmertpoetry.com/
