Friday, April 2, 2010

Friday, April 2, 2010

Greetings on this cool, windy and rainy day in the Sacramento valley. Today's poem is written by one of my very favorite poets, Sharon Olds. It is in her collection titled, THE DEAD AND THE LIVING.

Life is full of moments, if only we could remember that and savor more. For me, this poem truly addresses that, along with reminding us all of our connection, our humanness, our vulnerability.

The movement of this poem, the line breaks, the word choices, the tone--all contribute to a solemn, thought provoking mood.

THE DEATH OF MARILYN MONROE

The ambulance man touched her cold
body, lifted it, heavy as iron,
onto the stretcher, tried to close the
mouth, closed the eyes, tied the
arms to the sides, moved a caught
strand of hair, as if it mattered,
saw the shape of her breasts, flattened by
gravity, under the sheet,
carried her, as if it were she,
down the steps.

These men were never the same. They went out
afterwards, as they always did,
for a drink or two, but they could not meet
each other's eyes.

Their lives took
a turn--one had nightmares, strange
pains, impotence, depression, One did not
like his work, his wife looked
different, his kids. Even death
seemed different to him--a place where she
would be waiting,

and one found himself standing at night
in the doorway to a room of sleep, listening to a
woman breathing, just an ordinary
woman
breathing.

1 comment:

  1. Now that's a knee-slapper, isn't it? Wow. A very moving selection.

    ReplyDelete