The RetroLounge Daily Poem Thread (Wed 1/2/2008)

[RetroLounge]

For the Sake of Strangers

No matter what the grief, its weight,
we are obliged to carry it.
We rise and gather momentum, the dull strength
that pushes us through crowds.
And then the young boy gives me directions
so avidly. A woman holds the glass door open,
waiting patiently for my empty body to pass through.
All day it continues, each kindness
reaching toward another -- a stranger
singing to no one as I pass on the path, trees
offering their blossoms, a retarded child
who lifts his almond eyes and smiles.
Somehow they always find me, seem even
to be waiting, determined to keep me
from myself, from the thing that calls to me
as it must have once called to them --
this temptation to step off the edge
and fall weightless, away from the world.

Dorianne Laux

*************************

:hi:

RL

[lizziegrace]

1. I see a pattern here

:hug:

[RetroLounge]

2. Yes.

:hug:

RL

[lizziegrace]

4. Friends and even strangers

keep you from falling away. :hug:

[ThomCat]

3. This is beautiful.

I really hope you aren't feeling that kind of grief. :(

:hug:

[RetroLounge]

25. Not today, no...

:hug:

How are you feeling?

RL

[xchrom]

5. happy new year.

:hi:

[Tuesday Afternoon]

6. Reminds of Tennessee Williams --

Blanche DuBois: Whoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.

[Gonzo Gardener]

7. ...

:thumbsup:

:hi:

[hisownpetard]

8. I love Dorianne Laux. Thanks for the poem! Did you know that she was a waitress

in a diner where Phillip Levine used to go, and she approached him one day and started talking about
his poetry. He's the one who encouraged her to write and is given credit for 'discovering' her.

Thank again, RL. I admire your taste!

[RetroLounge]

9. I found her and Kim Addonizzio's book on Poetry

and fell for both of them.

They are both great in their own way and styles...

:hi:

RL

[hisownpetard]

10. My favorite book of hers is "What We Carry." Here's a poem from it:

DUST

Someone spoke to me last night,
told me the truth. Just a few words,
but I recognized it.
I knew I should make myself get up,
write it down, but it was late,
and I was exhausted from working
all day in the garden, moving rocks.
Now, I remember only the flavor--
not like food, sweet or sharp.
More like a fine powder, like dust.
And I wasn't elated or frightened,
but simply rapt, aware.
That's how it is sometimes--
God comes to your window,
all bright light and black wings,
and you're just too tired to open it.

—from What We Carry

[RetroLounge]

11. Have you read Kim Addonizzio's books?

:hi:

RL

[hisownpetard]

15. Yeah, I like her stuff, like that it's edgy and 'out there,' but I much prefer Doriane Laux

(if we're comparing them).

What do you think?

[RetroLounge]

18. On the whole, I prefer Laux

but sometimes my mood calls for Kim...

RL

[lizziegrace]

12. I read that one a few days ago

:hi:

[hisownpetard]

16. Do you like it?

[lizziegrace]

21. I do

It's become one of my favorites. :)

[Tuesday Afternoon]

14. that is fucking brilliant!!

sorry, I cussed.
but
that is the only way I know to say it.

[hisownpetard]

17. I agree. Cuss away!

[BlueIris]

19. "The Poet's Companion" is exxxxxxcellent.

The two of them autographed it for me once.

[RetroLounge]

23. I love that book!

Autographed? So Cool!

I pickup up a signed Margaret Atwood novel and this weekend I was given an autographed Michael Chabon novel.

:D

RL

[Guava Jelly]

13. This is quite a painful poem.

I don't know why but it made me think of a Sinatra song

Empty is..
Speaks:]
Empty is the sky before the sun wakes up.
Empty is the eyes of animals in cages.
Empty, faces of women mourning
When everything's been taken from them.
Me, don't ask me about empty.


Empty is a string of dirty days
Held together by some rain.
And the cold winds drumming at the trees again.
Empty is the color of the fear
Long about September when the days
Go marching in a line toward November.
Empty is the hour before sleep chills you every night
And pushes you to take me away from every kind of light.
Empty is me.
Empty is me.

..yeah

[RetroLounge]

24. Yeah, that song works well with the mood of the poem.

:hi:

RL

[BlueIris]

20. Spooky. (I was just going to post some Dorianne myself.)

[RetroLounge]

22. Please do!

I love her stuff...

:hi:

RL