So since I have yet to finish either of the two books I'm reading (I have no idea why it's taking me so long and I have a party to go to today so I can't read then grrr...) I decided to share a poem that I really like. It's not my favorite (which is A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning by John Donne) but it's up there!
Present by Frank O'Hara
The stranded gulch
below Grand Central
the gentle purr of cab tires in snow
and hidden stars
tears on the windshield
torn inexorably away in whining motion
and the dark thoughts which surround neon
in Union Square I see you for a moment
red green yellow searchlights cutting through
falling flakes, head bent to the wind
wet and frowning, melancholy, trying
I know perfectly well where you walk to
and that we'll meet in even greater darkness
later and will be warm.
so our cross
of paths will not be just muddy footprints
in the morning
not like celestial bodies'
yearly passes, nothing pushes us away
from each other
even now I can lean
forward across the square and see
your surprised grey look become greener
as I wipe the city's moisture from
your face
and you shake the snow
off onto my shoulder, light as a breath
where the quarrels and vices of
estranged companions weighed so bitterly
and accidentally
before, I saw you on
the floor of my life walking slowly
that time in summer rain stranger and
nearer
to become a way of feeling
that is not painful casual or diffuse
and seems to explore some peculiar insight
of the heavens for its favorite bodies
in the mixed-up air
I really love the language of this poem. It makes me feel sad and lonely. But isn't that crazy how so few lines can make you feel something so strong? That's why I love poetry so much. Even if I don't understand the poem completely (and I oftentimes don't) I always feel something.
How about you guys? Do you read poetry? Why or why not? What's your favorite poem? I would love, love to know!
P.S I'm on Twitter now-lostinabook88!
P.P.S while I was skimming my book of poetry just now I spotted Hamlet!!! (See earlier post for rant)
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