Poetry Founded in 1912 by Harriet Monroe
Home
Magazine
Web Exclusive
Letters
Books
About


Featured Poem
Rule
Reverie in Open Air
by Rita Dove

I acknowledge my status as a stranger:
Inappropriate clothes, odd habits
Out of sync with wasp and wren.
I admit I don't know how
To sit still or move without purpose.
I prefer books to moonlight, statuary to trees.

But this lawn has been leveled for looking,
So I kick off my sandals and walk its cool green.
Who claims we're mere muscle and fluids?
My feet are the primitives here.
As for the rest—ah, the air now
Is a tonic of absence, bearing nothing
But news of a breeze.

 
Current Issue
Past Issues
Historical Index
Past Issues

 SEARCH
 
 

 Copyright © The Poetry Foundation    Privacy Policy/Terms of Use    Contact