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THE FOUR QUARTETS HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
Randall Jarrell with friends. Was Modernism revolutionary—or snobby? Everyone seeks respectability—even the outlaw and the ruffian seek it on some level, even if they don’t say so. The desire for...
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THE OLD ARE LIKE POETS
The old are like poets—famous, covered in such lightWe cannot see them, only their fame.They ask, “how old?” You hear the old person’s name.But unseen the dream of that golden mind.They dream. The...
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2 AM IN THE DARK
I am an introvert on an extrovert’s ride.“Shall we move to the country?You decide.”“We are moving and you willNeed to do the following.”I am living here still.“We will have dogs and anyone can...
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THE INTROVERT
Now you understand.What an introvert can do.During long off-hoursThey practice. YouSize up the poem they wroteTo you as a quick note—Not quite knowingWhere it is going.You do like to talk.But when you...
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HIS POETRY AND HER
He came to my houseAnd laid his beautiful blue shirt on the floor.He had blue eyes.He was tall. Don’t embarrass me.I’m not going to say anymore.I don’t remember what was said.During his embarrassing...
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THE EXCITEMENT OF THE PALE POEM
What brings you unannounced into my room?Were you not ushered in by my mistress,Who sits each day as serene as the evening, Who lounges in her seat by the luxurious doorDuring my dull and never ending...
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YOU MUST DECIDE
You must decide. You are either a man, a woman, Or a poet.If you lift a brick as a man, you are a slave.If you lift a brick as a poet, hope is yours. If you write poetry as a poetNothing can stand in...
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SCARRIET REVIEW: ON THE WAY-NEW AND SELECTED POEMS BY RUTH LEPSON
“A man must partly give up being a man with women-folk” —Robert Frost “This is like taking off a tight dress that I love” —Ruth Lepson What is poetry? Obviously it is more than the poetry, but to what...
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IN A CLOUD OF LOVE
In a cloud of love,I am able to seeMy desire’s end. In a passion too intense—For friendship—I see my friend.
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STREAM OF SNAKES
Cold clear stream,Shadowed by trees—I had a dreamWhich made my soul freeze.Snakes of all colors—Bright, fine, colors—Were swimming upstreamIn my dream. Swimming upstreamIn my dream,Swimming upstreamIn...
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HERA
This was no ordinary woman.She grabbed me on the shoulderSaying, “What, man, are you afraid of girls?”True, I had been afraid of women,And used Ovid’s sarcastic wisdom,The trick of fancy and the...
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FROWNED UPON
I think if I hold very still,The Battle of Waterloo,The Salon des Refuses,World War One and World War Two,Will pass by without harming me. The elegance of passivityIs praised in poetryAnd even in...
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THE WEB
There is so much wrong in the past,So much unfinished revenge that waits.The historian would be killedShould he truly venture there. One thing keeps the historian from harm.Art protects; taste,...
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IF YOU CATCH THE KAREN-19 VIRUS
Defend Yoko Ono and Jimmy Carter to the death.Know every -ism is everywhereand when pressed, can give an example.Permit not one risk, germ,joy, or idea-which-destroys-another-idea to exist.Feel...
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AGING GRACEFULLY
I give you my box of years.Limit is the source of all our tears.We are limited in so many waysBut the limit most limiting is our days. You were thirty-nine.We danced and drank wine.There are less...
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THE ONLY POINT TO LIFE IS THE AESTHETIC ONE
The only point to life is the aesthetic one,A melody decided uponIn the way you speak, in the way you move your arms.How will you support your breasts?Will you shave today?No one is looking over your...
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WHEN NEW TECHNOLOGIES EMERGE
When new technologies emergeAnd a new generation is on the vergeOf becoming ascendant, the old oneRemembers the airplane, the ship, the sun.The old infrastructure providesRobert Frost with the new....
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MY SOUL WAS SOOTHED
My soul was soothedBy a scene of a family,Men and women with hats onPlaying cards by the sea— Perhaps Uncle Martin did not want to be there;Maybe Aunt Grace hates her job, Martin, and life.But this...
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THE CHASTE LADY’S MAN
Was it morals or misunderstanding? I see you coming in for a landing But always missing. You liked her, but there wasn’t any kissing. They would stop you in the street Or they would agree to meet If...
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THE FOUNTAIN
The fountain’s sound entertained us downtown—Where you chose a green bench for us to sit on.The occasional loud bus blared behind us—where vinesTried to hide the street. You said the small white...
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