A Mid-Winter Breath of Poem
by George Looney from the fall 2006 issue of Third Coast.
Ode to Someone Else's Voice
This sky reminds me how difficult it is
to praise anything that moves us
& not have that praise turn maudlin
or end up ravaged & broke in some alley,
the taste of emptiness in its mouth
as it mumbles hollow promises,
asks for a dollar to buy a danish
& a cup of coffee. How we want
to look away & hurry past this
sorry reminder of what it means
to accept the inherent pleasures of this world
for what they are & not turn them into
something more us than other. We want
all praise to come back to us
& we'll sing someone else's lyrics
as if we had written them & don't care
how our voice changes them. To light
on a day like this, any subterfuge
seems silly & just not worth the effort.
I want to be able to sing, in the voice
of this light, of lovers, their tongues
writing odes on one another's flesh.
...
On the other hand, my beginning poetry class is boring me to death. I wish it weren't a major req or I'd withdraw because I don't need that waste of time right now. Life is crazy, as in extremely.sanity.challenging. Good thing I have Ellie.
Ode to Someone Else's Voice
This sky reminds me how difficult it is
to praise anything that moves us
& not have that praise turn maudlin
or end up ravaged & broke in some alley,
the taste of emptiness in its mouth
as it mumbles hollow promises,
asks for a dollar to buy a danish
& a cup of coffee. How we want
to look away & hurry past this
sorry reminder of what it means
to accept the inherent pleasures of this world
for what they are & not turn them into
something more us than other. We want
all praise to come back to us
& we'll sing someone else's lyrics
as if we had written them & don't care
how our voice changes them. To light
on a day like this, any subterfuge
seems silly & just not worth the effort.
I want to be able to sing, in the voice
of this light, of lovers, their tongues
writing odes on one another's flesh.
...
On the other hand, my beginning poetry class is boring me to death. I wish it weren't a major req or I'd withdraw because I don't need that waste of time right now. Life is crazy, as in extremely.sanity.challenging. Good thing I have Ellie.