Flushing great works into the world

 

“One reason to write a poem is to flush from the deep thickets of the self some thought, feeling, comprehension, question, music, you didn't know was in you, or in the world.” – Jane Hirshfield

 

Born in New York on this date in 1953, Hirschfield has authored countless essays and numerous award-winning books of poetry – including 2001's Given Sugar, Given Salt; 2006's After; and 2023’s The Asking: New & Selected Poems.  Her works have been published worldwide in 15 languages.

 

For Saturday’s Poem, here is Hirshfield’s,

 

A Person Protests to Fate

A person protests to fate:

"The things you have caused
me most to want
are those that furthest elude me."

Fate nods.
Fate is sympathetic.

To tie the shoes, button a shirt,
are triumphs
for only the very young,
the very old.

During the long middle:

conjugating a rivet
mastering tango
training the cat to stay off the table
preserving a single moment longer than this one
continuing to wake whatever has happened the day before

and the penmanships love practices inside the body.