From "Broom"
To remember that you're alive
visit the cemetery of your father
at noon after you've made love
and are still wrapped in a mammalian
odor that you are forced to cherish.
Under each stone is someone's inevitable
surprise, the unexpected death
of their biology that struggled hard as it must.
Now go home without looking back
at the fading cemetery, enough is enough,
but stop on the way to buy the best wine
you can afford and a dozen stiff brooms.
Have a few swallows then throw the furniture
out the window and then begin sweeping . . .
-- Jim Harrison
You'd have to have a few swallows before you threw out the furniture--furniture often being of use as somewhere to seek comfort at the end of a hard day. But yes, out with the furniture when it serves only as something to restrain us from forward motion as we turn our backs on the cemetery.
ReplyDeleteYes, the furniture I refer to is quite real, old dark dressers and cabinets, and even my mother's desk. I've carried them around long enough and they do indeed restrain me. Even though I'll probably replace them with pieces less well made, it will be a relief to let go of them. Kodi chewed the legs of most of them when he was a puppy, and it's time. Enough is enough!
ReplyDeleteUmm, when I say Kodi chewed the legs of most of them, I'm referring to the furniture. In case you wondered...
ReplyDeleteI've been carrying this poem in my heart pocket since I first read it. One of the many things I love is not just the sentiment, but the image of birds taking flight that rises each time I read "swallows."
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