Forgetting breakfast for tea and last night’s scrawled
lines over wine and a midnight muse,
we finally break eggs, butter toast, call it brunch.
The pan, long-cooled, ignored on the stove —
coffee is poured, the landscaper’s bill
pushed behind the sugar bowl —
a laundry marathon spins out at the top of the stair,
wringing thread-bare towels of their last hope.
We are picking peaches with Li-Young Lee
© Jilly’s All Rights Reserved
Two poems by Li-Young Lee: The Weight of Sweetness and From Blossoms
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Beautiful.
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Thank you!
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You have written a wonderful poem, and thank you for linking to the others.
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Thanks! I find that his poetry must be taken in small doses or it overwhelms me with it power.
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Okay, dang! You’ve been peeking in poets’ windows (Billy would be so proud, come Monday!). That final line pulls you up short and, if you are a poet (or reader of poetry), causes you to go, “Oh!” With a smile on your face. It’s that good, Jilly!
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Thank you, Charley! Appreciate your Billy reference. The impact of the final line has been a significant focus for me lately. Rilke’s “Torso” & Wright’s “Hammock” have speared me through.
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“I have wasted my life!” What a wonderfully ambiguous, yet heavily-laden line! You did it, though, with this poem.
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One can only hope to get in the ballgame at that level. 🙂
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Practice! Practice! Practice!
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Wonderful poem! I enjoyed the ones you linked as well.
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Thanks, Lynn! His poetry is astounding.
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I was impressed by just these two! I must find and read more of his. Thanks for introducing his words.
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I’ve taught “The Gift” for about 7 years in my classroom, but I am just now diving in head first. Small doses, or I drown. Let me know which poems of his you like!
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I just now read “The Gift” and I do believe I’m hooked. I can understand the small doses. I actually felt that way with “From Blossoms” which emitted a very audile sigh upon finishing. I will let you know which ones I like as I read more.
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Such a poem to cherish and I too go in search of Li-Young Lee. I love the line about the landscaper’s bill. But as other’s above have said, that’s a good poem.
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Thank you! His poetry is astoundingly beautiful.
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