Friday Poetry

When this blog was going great guns I tried to post poetry every Friday. Today, being my first Friday back on the blog I am doing it again. For years, people have been participating in a group Friday Poetry effort. This long pre-dates the now infamous Follower Friday that goes on with Twitter posters. And, technically, if you track my blog back to its beginning I believe I may have been amongst the first to make a weekly effort to post poetry on Friday.

So, today's poetry comes from another blog's recent posting. Thank you to The Best American Poetry for sharing this one with me. And, now I share it with you.

"In the Last Forty-Five Days" [by Stephanie Paterik]

I have shaken raw sugar packets
stolen wireless Internet
made love in the morning
measured vanilla extract
watched apple spice cake go brown around the edges

and you are still where I left you in the Arizona sun.

I have drawn flowers for your headstone
selected thank you cards with a white bird on the cover
wondered why we imagine the dead to be flying rodents
stared directly at the sun
curled my hair for a passport photo

and you are still where I left you.

I have sliced bananas for the Cheerios
started signing e-mails “Warm Regards”
gained five pounds
completed one thousand downward dogs
scrubbed my yoga mat and thanked the Buddha-beaded guru

and you are still.

I have met with a tall accountant
worn black wide-brimmed hats
dreamt of a riverboat on the south of France
bought local blueberries
framed a photograph of an orange blossom

and you.

-- October 2010


The Poetry Friday Roundup is at Live. Love. Explore! this week.