Susan Rich
Facing 50 with a Line by Robert Hayden
There is so much that clings to us –
not just cat fur and grass
seed, but also chocolate
creams and the white beach
of childhood, an extended sash of blue.
*
Not just sadness and solace,
but what the body
reveals after waking,
the open heart and a watery
sense of who we are, the life we attempt to choose.
*
What clings to us (train trips, questions)
fall forward to all
the future will randomly
reduce to an email, an hour,
a knot of pleasure – nearly pursued.
*
The seasons clock on
redecorating the light we crave
like a dim-sum tray –
rich, sensual, and brand new
to each other –
*
as Shakespearean fools, as Pomeranians,
a bright pair of trusted boots.
Susan Rich has received awards from the Academy of American Poets and PEN USA. She is the author of Cures Include Travel and The Cartographer’s Tongue. Recent poems will appear in The Antioch Review, Harvard Review, and Poetry International. Her collection, The Alchemist’s Kitchen, will be published next year.
Page(s) 14-15
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