Here's the deal: I'll stop posting poems when poems stop being awesome.
The Orange
Wendy Cope
At lunchtime I bought a huge orange-
The size of it made us all laugh.
I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave-
They got quarters and I got a half.
And that orange, it made me so happy,
As ordinary things often do
Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park.
This is peace and contentment. It's new.
The rest of the day was quite easy.
I did all the jobs on my list
And enjoyed them and had some time over.
I love you. I'm glad I exist.
Candy makes me glad I exist. I'm not kidding. It will kill me, but until the day that it does, processed sugar keeps me on this planet. Also, Spouseman.
What makes you glad you exist?
20 comments:
I love that poem! Thank you for posting it!
Cheese, green things outside, and dancing with my baby.
I love that poem! I am realizing that poems need to rhyme and have some sort of amusing theme for me to appreciate them. I'm so cultured.
(By baby, I mean my actual baby. My child. Not my spouse.)
Books. The beach. Clementine oranges. My bed and fuzzy pajama pants.
Where do you find such great poems, rhyming and not?
@Ashley
Some of my favorite poems come from Garrison Keillor's collections. I'm not even embarassed by that.
I have "Good Poems," "Good Poems for Hard Times," and "Good Poems, American Places."
All of them are fantastic.
I also love "Poetry 180" put together by Billy Collins.
Lastly, poets.org has all sorts of cool categories (Poems for Daughters is my current favorite) and neat interviews/audio etc.
Most of the poems I've posted here are from those places.
Hot pockets and oreos at 3 in the morning.
Tetris, snuggly pets, muffins.
Music. My 7 month old baby who has started patting me vigorously on the back whenever I pick him up. Sex with my husband. Seeing old friends, writing when I really feel it, being outside in the summer. Poems! Keep posting them!
I really like this poem you chose! It's simplicity is both whimsical and beautiful. Although it does make me feel guilty that I freak over trivial and unimportant issues when it's he simple things that will save us from a bad day.
As for what makes me happy and glad to be on this planet, I don't really have an answer at the moment, but I do know that it's not my time to give up. And maybe that's enough for now.
The color pink makes me glad I exist; the sun, Southern movies and beautiful shoes, also.
I love that poem, almost as much as I love "This Is Just To Say" by William Carlos Williams.
Poems about food are amazing. :)
My only problem with poem postings, is that poems need to be read out loud, and I read your blog at work. So, now my co-workers look at me funny after hearing me read poetry in my office.
Hm. I think I'm mostly happy I exist when I'm eating something that tastes really good. I've said aloud before that I'm so happy to be alive just so I can know what See's candy tastes like. Sounds shallow and dumb, but it's the first thing that came to mind.
Nutella.
Trashy, but entertaining TV shows like Gossip Girl.
Good books.
(Hi. I really, really enjoyed this post. I've been reading your blog for a long time now and this is my first comment. I think I'll eat a cookie to celebrate. You should, too.)
Ooh, thanks. I've already found some gems from poets.org. I love that you can make your own little collection on the site.
Nutella and a Kindle.
@Ashley: poets.org slays me dead with awesome. They have a recording of Gwendolyn Brooks reading 'We real cool' and talking about her writing process. Fantastic.
@Elise: Cookies all around!
My favorite happiness is when its cold and nasty outside, but nice and warm inside. I don't have to go anywhere and there's a new library book just waiting for me to open. So I get on cozy pajamas (ridiculously early) and read while the wind howls outside.
I like your poems. Especially ones like these, that are easy to understand and enjoy. Becase I'm deficient in this area.
That's not to be cute. It's just true.
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