Friday, November 05, 2010

Poetry Friday: In the Middle


Because I, too, am "in the middle of a life that's as complicated as everyone else's, struggling for balance, juggling time."

Because I love poems that hone in on the tensions of this life, the passing of time, the unsettling realizations of the temporal world, the uncanny way in which the mystery of love trumps everything else. Always.

Because it's Poetry Friday.

Because I love to share treasures.


In the Middle

by Barbara Crooker

of a life that's as complicated as everyone else's,
struggling for balance, juggling time.
The mantle clock that was my grandfather's
has stopped at 9:20; we haven't had time
to get it repaired. The brass pendulum is still,
the chimes don't ring. One day I look out the window,
green summer, the next, the leaves have already fallen,
and a grey sky lowers the horizon. Our children almost grown,
our parents gone, it happened so fast. Each day, we must learn
again how to love, between morning's quick coffee
and evening's slow return. Steam from a pot of soup rises,

(Read the rest here, at The Writer's Almanac.)

The round up is at Teaching Authors today.

5 comments:

jama said...

I love Barbara Crooker and hadn't seen this particular poem before. Love "the mystery of love trumps everything else." Yes! Thanks, Karen ♥.

Mary Lee said...

Oh, I do love this poem! I'm always "running out of time" when what I'm really doing is running THROUGH the time of my life and I just need to look up and notice!

Unknown said...

My life is full of clocks that need fixing. I sometimes wish I could set my household metronome at a slower pace. Maybe I should just get a hammock--I'd love to have a hammock.

tanita✿davis said...

Ah, to be tangled up in a hammock - that taking time to be tangled is the answer to it all. Lovely.

Amy L V said...

I needed this poem...and I just didn't know. Thank you, Karen! My whole family thanks you. A.