| Did you ever hear the name Lucille Clifton?
She died yesterday before I’d ever heard of her.
I surfed somewhere on the Internet
Where they quoted one of her poems in full.
Yes, I liked it, and so I read a second one—
And now I regret never knowing her name,
Never knowing Her at all.
She was a black woman eleven years older than I am
And probably had little in common with me
Except poetry, which is to say,
At least a portion of Everything!
I think the world is poorer now, though
I don’t know any way to inform them
Except by writing this, even when I’m unsure
How anyone will ever know who I am!
Maybe in an ideal world
One poet will lead to another,
Like dominoes that fall.
rcs.
Current draft: 2/14/2010
Created on 2/14/2010 4:27 PM |
Catching up again.....I like your "Silver Spoon", and this one, and Ms Clifton's poem is lovely too. I shall investigate her work further.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many modern poets in the USA - it's hard to keep up with 'em all. I wander around looking at one, then another, then come back here, and realise you are just as good as any....on a good day. ;-)
I never try very hard to keep up with living poets. I think it's because I'm afraid that too much attention elsewhere will leave me too busy to write my own. I guess I long ago gave up on the idea that I can do everything that may occur to me! I thank you for your attention and your compliments. Wish the world (even some of it) shared your views.
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