Saturday, April 11, 2009

Eating Poetry by Mark Strand

Hungry?


Eating Poetry

Ink runs from the corners of my mouth.
There is no happiness like mine.
I have been eating poetry.

The librarian does not believe what she sees.
Her eyes are sad
and she walks with her hands in her dress.

The poems are gone.
The light is dim.
The dogs are on the basement stairs and coming up.

Their eyeballs roll,
their blond legs burn like brush.
The poor librarian begins to stamp her feet and weep.

She does not understand.
When I get on my knees and lick her hand,
she screams.

I am a new man.
I snarl at her and bark.
I romp with joy in the bookish dark.



Mark Strand was born on Prince Edward Island in Canada in 1934.  He has served as the Poet Laureate of the United States and his 1998 collection Blizzard of One won the Pulitzer Prize. He currently teaches at Columbia University in New York.

10 Comments:

Blogger PurestGreen said...

Oooh I love this one. "I romp with joy in the bookish dark." Thanks for posting it.

11:57 AM  
Blogger disabled account said...

heehee...is this why dogs eat homework?

12:58 PM  
Blogger Joanna Lee said...

Nothing like good poetry to set everything right! Even if you have to lick the librarian's hand!

3:42 PM  
Blogger zendo said...

This is a great piece, I’ve never read/heard of this guy before. As soon as I finished, I had to put this on the syllabus for one of my classes. Thank you kindly dear e-friend.

5:34 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I love that imagery. Ink runs fromt the corners of my mouth. Fantastical.

9:54 PM  
Blogger Dragonblogger said...

Very nice poem, I too had never heard of him before, also I didn't know there was a poet laureate position in the US at all.

4:25 PM  
Blogger Jesse said...

Poems-about-poeting that don't ruin your life, coincidentally, more: http://tr.im/iXHP

4:31 PM  
Blogger LA Nickers said...

So cool.

Poetry is indeed a food for the creative mind.

Linda

ONCE UPON A RHYME

8:56 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Followed this guy for some time. Those who like his writing check out Sleeping with One Eye Open

11:33 AM  
Blogger Shop hoa TPHCM said...

http flowers là shop hoa tươi chuyên cung cấp các sản phẩm hoa tươi đẹp chất lượng nhất trong đó có hoa tang lễ quận 6 chia buồn viếng đám tang.

12:45 PM  

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