Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Stealing a Poem

Yellow Brick Road, 2012

Before returning a library book, I sat on the corner of 4th and Shoreline, across from the little yellow house and the brick oven bakery, on a bench in front of the pharmacy, beside a box of hula hoops and a telephone booth, and slid my dark glasses over my ears before resting them on the bridge of my nose, and stole the poem on page 287, copying the title in capital letters and the rest in mixed case, into my notebook, with a pencil I did not love.

24 comments:

  1. share your loot! must have been worth copying
    (I especially love your incognito look, with the dark glasses, in this movie-like setting...)

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    1. Dear Amelia, You will have to go to your library (or bookstore) and find Collected Poems by Jack Gilbert. The poem you'll find on page 287 is The Good Life. I think you'll like it.

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  2. Stealthy and cool all wrapped up into one amazing lady!

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    1. Stealthy, I like that. I'm going to have to add it to my resume. Thanks, Alexandria.

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  3. And in Virginia sits a smiling woman.

    You always bring peace to my heart Denise.

    xo Jane

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  4. beside a box of hula hoops...gorgeous, darl. x

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  5. The good life indeed - a beautiful vignette there Denise.

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  6. A poem. And a beautiful one at that.

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  7. There you go! Another inspired piece worth stealing. I read it aloud to myself laaate at night. Twice!

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  8. "...beside a box of hula hoops and a telephone booth...". A step back in time. You always make me smile.

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  9. That is how I want to spend my days.

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  10. inspired by page 287: when I wake up, a weak sun just rising, I get back in bed and start re-working my poem(s). That's my tomorrow.

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    1. I thought I already replied to this, Amelia. So happy you went and found the book!

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  11. Oh my gosh, Denise. I've been teaching my ten-year-old son this week about commas and how they are like a person's carry-on luggage taken on an airplane- adding details to the sentences to give them flavor and power. He'll get a kick out of yours!

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    1. Ha. You noticed my playing a bit with the sentence in this post.

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  12. Hula hoops! good grief, and here I was trying to figure out how to tighten my abs....totally forgot about hula hoops :) Is that photo a painting? I love the darkness of it.

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    1. No, Raina, it isn't a painting, just a low light photograph. 'YELLOW BRICK ROAD' was somehow worked into the pavement in front of the little yellow house. I'd walked that way many times before noticing it.

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  13. What an incredible image you just painted for us. Thank you for your sharing and beautiful way with words.

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  14. I love prepositions. And some pencils more than others.

    This one made me laugh. Thanks.

    x E.

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  15. the poet's gift:

    poems are meant to steal---just like that.

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  16. Thanks, everyone! I've been enjoying quite a bit of poetry this summer. I'm finding it more and more inspiring.

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