Eating Poetry
Ink runs from the corners of my mouth.
There is no happiness like mine.
I have been eating poetry.
The librarian does not believe what she sees.
Her eyes are sad
and she walks with her hands in her dress.
The poems are gone.
The light is dim.
The dogs are on the basement stairs and coming up.
Their eyeballs roll,
their blond legs burn like brush.
The poor librarian begins to stamp her feet and weep.
She does not understand.
When I get on my knees and lick her hand,
she screams.
I am a new man.
I snarl at her and bark.
I romp with joy in the bookish dark.
Mark Strand was born on Prince Edward Island in Canada in 1934. He has served as the Poet Laureate of the United States and his 1998 collection Blizzard of One won the Pulitzer Prize. He currently teaches at Columbia University in New York.
The light is dim.
The dogs are on the basement stairs and coming up.
Their eyeballs roll,
their blond legs burn like brush.
The poor librarian begins to stamp her feet and weep.
She does not understand.
When I get on my knees and lick her hand,
she screams.
I am a new man.
I snarl at her and bark.
I romp with joy in the bookish dark.
Mark Strand was born on Prince Edward Island in Canada in 1934. He has served as the Poet Laureate of the United States and his 1998 collection Blizzard of One won the Pulitzer Prize. He currently teaches at Columbia University in New York.
Oooh I love this one. "I romp with joy in the bookish dark." Thanks for posting it.
ReplyDeleteheehee...is this why dogs eat homework?
ReplyDeleteNothing like good poetry to set everything right! Even if you have to lick the librarian's hand!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great piece, I’ve never read/heard of this guy before. As soon as I finished, I had to put this on the syllabus for one of my classes. Thank you kindly dear e-friend.
ReplyDeleteI love that imagery. Ink runs fromt the corners of my mouth. Fantastical.
ReplyDeleteVery nice poem, I too had never heard of him before, also I didn't know there was a poet laureate position in the US at all.
ReplyDeletePoems-about-poeting that don't ruin your life, coincidentally, more: http://tr.im/iXHP
ReplyDeleteSo cool.
ReplyDeletePoetry is indeed a food for the creative mind.
Linda
ONCE UPON A RHYME
Followed this guy for some time. Those who like his writing check out Sleeping with One Eye Open
ReplyDeletehttp flowers là shop hoa tươi chuyên cung cấp các sản phẩm hoa tươi đẹp chất lượng nhất trong đó có hoa tang lễ quận 6 chia buồn viếng đám tang.
ReplyDelete