It is reported that when William Stafford was asked how he was able to write a poem every day, he said, “I lowered my standards.”
And in that spirit…
for the CGs
we had often giggled over dinner,
doodled the names of our future children on butcher paper,
ripped into hot bread, too hungry to wait,
passed it one to another while a waiter poured the wine.
we’d shrieked our way up the interstate,
crammed three in the backseat
while the other two gripped the wheel, dog-eared the map,
craned their necks to catch all the jokes.
we were friends,
but that night
we tiptoed to the dock
grasped the ladder one by one
took that last murky step
sank our feet into supple earth, worn loose
by a forever watery blanket
and drew our legs up—
there is only water, no house, no rafts piled nearby
our voices skipped as stones,
whispers tangled in the trees
as a star burned into new birth, then cooled in her dark home,
winking back at the blushing moon.
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Asides
» A note to readers who are looking at the new blog: you’ll notice some “greatest hits” from reverendmother there, especially as I ramp up my writing in that space. Sorry for the déjà vu!
» There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places. -Wendell Berry
» “The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope.” -Barbara Kingsolver
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Quite lovely indeed.
I wish I knew enough about free verse to comment when you post these. (Or enough about poetry to know whether this isn’t free verse.)
Ahh…how I remember that night! It was the beginning of many such wonderful, laughter-filled moments under the moon…maybe we will introduce the girls to our little swimming excursion once they are old enough
Oh my goodness, you don’t need to know anything about anything to comment! Liked it, didn’t like it, didn’t get it, etc.
Oh, I remember that night! What a magical time! I love your poetry!