A little lowbrow poetry

[darkemeralds]

Meme: post a poem to your journal.

I Confess

I stalked her
In the grocery store: her crown
of snowy braids held in place by a great silver clip,
her erect bearing, radiating tenderness,
the way she placed yogurt and avocados in her basket,
beaming peace like the North Star.
I wanted to ask "What aisle did you find
your serenity in, do you know how
to be married for 50 years, or how to live alone,
excuse me for interrupting, but you seem to possess
some knowledge that makes the earth burn and turn on its axis--"
but we don't request such things from strangers
nowadays. So I said, "I love your hair."

--Alison Luterman

I guess it's lowbrow: I saw it on Tri-Met buses for ages, part of their "Poetry in Motion" series. It was a winner in the Olay Total Effects "Fine Lines Poetry Contest."

I like it anyway.

Comments

[roseambr.livejournal.com]

I love the sentiment and the truth behind the poem. How many times we speak the unimportant while wanting so much to speak the truth to each other. But then again, if I were on the recieving end, would I want a stranger asking me an eternal truth question? Maybe polite society has a purpose after all.

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

You've captured a lot of the complexity that the poem contains. I'm glad you liked it. It almost always brought a little tear to my eye when I would see it while riding the bus to work.

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

*nods* Me too.

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

I think most women over, I dunno, 35? can probably relate to it. Glad you enjoyed it.

[llaras.livejournal.com]

I like it too. Who the fuck decides what is lowbrow anyway? Art is art.

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

Yeah! Right on.

[kispexi2.livejournal.com]

I like it too.

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

You know, I seriously thought about putting in some Bernard de Ventadorn because I was feeling really pretentious. Then I remembered this poem, and felt much, much better about myself.