"I am trying to hold in one steady glance / all the parts of my life." — Adrienne Rich, from the poem "Toward the Solstice"
I saw a poem a day or two ago on Poetry Daily that awed me. Be warned, it’s dark, but I was so impressed with it, I had to share it. It’s called “Death by My Son,” by Frank Giampietro. I might have to track down more of his work. Read the poem here.
Anchor “Widely expected,if you will,cataclysm.” Things I’d say,am saying, to persons no longerpresent. Yards away trim junipersmake their customarybows. “Oh, no thank you”to any of it. If you watch mefrom increasing distance, I am writing thisalways This poem is from the collection that just won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry,…
I am the same as ever I have been.Lying hollow on my pillow, making listsof scars and sins. © All the parts of my life 2008-2015.
When I was a teenager – often depressed, no self-esteem, thinking of death and hurting myself – I bought a used paperback anthology of poetry by women. I had heard of Sylvia Plath, and might already have read The Bell Jar, but hadn’t yet been exposed to her poetry. The…