Falling in love with poetry all over again

[slipjig3]

Words for Worry

Another word for father is worry.

Worry boils the water
for tea in the middle of the night.

Worry trimmed the child’s nails before
singing him to sleep.

Another word for son is delight,
another word, hidden.

And another is One-Who-Goes-Away.
Yet another, One-Who-Returns.

So many words for son:
He-Dreams-for-All-Our-Sakes.
His-Play-Vouchsafes-Our-Winter-Share.
His-Dispersal-Wins-the-Birds.

But only one word for father.
And sometimes a man is both.
Which is to say sometimes a man
manifests mysteries beyond
his own understanding.

For instance, being the one and the many,
and the loneliness of either. Or

the living light we see by, we never see. Or

the sole word weighs
heavy as a various name.

And sleepless worry folds the laundry for tomorrow.
Tired worry wakes the child for school.

Orphan worry writes the note he hides
in the child’s lunch bag.
It begins, Dear Firefly....

—Li-Young Lee

Comments

[cyan-blue.livejournal.com]

Beautiful!

[fipplebuss.livejournal.com]

Perhaps it is too irreverent to say after such a beautiful poem, but that never stopped me before…

Another word for mother is breakfast
Another word for mother is brunch
Another word for mother is after brunch snack
Another word for mother is pre lunch snack
Another word for mother is lunch
Another word for mother is after lunch snack
Another word for mother is linner
Another word for mother is …

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

*giggle* This is so very, very true...