A poem to bring hope and humility in this new season, by our own Sharon Olds, drawn from her recently released Balladz. This collection (the third in her series paying homage to poetic and song forms, following Odes and Arias) is a finalist for the National Book Award. âImprovâ treats us to a meditation on the fruits of friendship and to the deep thought that travels quickly down the page in any Olds poem. The poet is also the subject, this week, of a New York Times Magazineprofile by Sam Anderson.
On the morning of the drive from sea-level
to the mountain, I asked if we could stop for melted
cheese! at the Mexican place in Truckee.
Then I worried, does Bob think Iâm a diva?
Am I always asking for things? And I thought of Toiâs letter,
and I know she is the locus of a giftâ
and I am too, a spiral of energy, a genie, a dust-devil,
I was born with it, a life force,
it does not belong to me, or to anyone else,
Iâm the container of it, the guardian.
And I love to let it out toward peopleâ
nectary nosegay gusts of it.
My mother would ask me to rub her back,
she said that I had Vivian Hands,
like her college best friendâsâ
the palms of my hands would listen for what
my motherâs muscles wantedâas now,
I seem to be writing, but Iâm listening for what you want,
it would be my joy to give it to you.
There is so much joy on the earth even as it is being dis-inhabited
by the other animals, and over-inhabited by usâas it is being
knocked off course and smoked and drowned.
While we have food, let us share it and eat it.
There is so much action required of us now.
And pleasure is required of us.
O my darlings, so much pleasure is required of us.
More on this book and author:
Learn more about Balladz by Sharon Olds.
Browse other books by Sharon Olds and explore her website.
Hear Sharon Olds read at various points throughout The Dodge Poetry Festival in Newark, NJ from October 20, 2022 to October 23, 2022. Hear Sharon Olds and John Keene read at 92NY in New York, NY on October 25, 2022. Both events can be accessed in person and online.
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