Poem on a Line by Anne Sexton, 'We are All Writing God's Poem'

by Barbara Crooker

Today, the sky's the soft blue of a work shirt washed
a thousand times. The journey of a thousand miles
begins with a single step. On the interstate listening
to NPR, I heard a Hubble scientist
say, "The universe is not only stranger than we
think, it's stranger than we can think." I think
I've driven into spring, as the woods revive
with a loud shout, redbud trees, their gaudy
scarves flung over bark's bare limbs. Barely doing
sixty, I pass a tractor trailer called Glory Bound,
and aren't we just? Just yesterday,
I read Li Po: "There is no end of things
in the heart," but it seems like things
are always ending—vacation or childhood,
relationships, stores going out of business,
like the one that sold jeans that really fit—
And where do we fit in? How can we get up
in the morning, knowing what we do? But we do,
put one foot after the other, open the window,
make coffee, watch the steam curl up
and disappear. At night, the scent of phlox curls
in the open window, while the sky turns red violet,
lavender, thistle, a box of spilled crayons.
The moon spills its milk on the black tabletop
for the thousandth time.

Comments

  1. That is a fabulous photo of shirts on a clothes line, which I've never seen hung that way!

    Routine can be boring but also bring comfort.

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  2. I like the proverb that every ending is a new beginning.

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  3. I kept saying 'true' 'true'. All the words - so true.

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  4. Love the photo and the passage. Such thoughts have filled many a mind I think. As we step further into the future. One step before the other, sometimes wishing to step back.

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  5. Wonderful. I love the last line.

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  6. Great piece! I love the sentiment!

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  7. "The universe is not only stranger than we
    think, it's stranger than we can think." Wow...I don't know if I've ever seen my outlook expressed so concisely...

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Hey, thanks for your thoughts and your time:>)

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