We're back on schedule, poetry fans. Hope you enjoy this one from one of my favorite contemporary poets, Billy Collins.
Morning
Why do we bother with the rest of the day,
the swale of the afternoon,
the sudden dip into evening,
then night with his notorious perfumes,
his many-pointed stars?
This is the best—
throwing off the light covers,
feet on the cold floor,
and buzzing around the house on espresso—
maybe a splash of water on the face,
a palmful of vitamins—
but mostly buzzing around the house on espresso,
dictionary and atlas open on the rug,
the typewriter waiting for the key of the head,
a cello on the radio,
and, if necessary, the windows—
trees fifty, a hundred years old
out there,
heavy clouds on the way
and the lawn steaming like a horse
in the early morning.
— Billy Collins
6 comments:
That sounds so pretty. Other than the buzzing around the house on espresso...my morning is nothing like that. I do have a post sitting in "draft" that's steaming like horse shit in the early morning, though, which is why it's still in "draft" and not published.
Well I look forward to reading that post, mary ellen, because I do love your writing.
Maybe you should try the espresso?
I must say Mr. Collins must be a morning person - and I'm not!
Give me the night with his notorious perfumes anytime! That's when my creative juices flow!
Seriously, if I didn't have to actually get out of the house and come to work, I might have his positive attitude to getting up!
I get up at a god-awful hour now because of my commute, so I have a new appreciation for the morning. If I sleep in 'til 7:30 on the weekends, that's unusual. I stay away from the espresso, but I do need my coffee....
Love the poem. I have become something of a morning person myself because of early rising to get to work. Couldn't possibly do it w/o the coffee. I made the mistake of buying half caffeine. Can't wait to use it up, sure as heck can't afford to throw it out. Weird stuff like no caffein coffee ought to have a huge sign to that effect by the cans and the cans should be some off color so that doesn't happen to people! Puce, maybe. What I really can hardly wait for is warm mornings and a walk around the flower beds. Cup of coffee in hand, preferably.
G, be careful what you wish for -- you know those "warm mornings" in Baltimore can be brutal!
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