Poetry Introductions

What would I do without the poets that others have introduced me to?

I really can't say...don't know if I would have discovered them on my own, or if my life would just be wanting.

I can't count the number of poets that Marion has "found" for me, but they include Rilke, Lucille Clifton, David Whyte and the incomparable Kim Addonizio. I love that Kim and Marion and I are exactly the same age. I think of her as a contemporary poet. That must mean Marion and I are contemporary, too. Heaven knows, we're not old.

From Pam came someone who means a lot to me, Sharon Olds. When I bought my first book from Sharon, I created a habit that has stayed with me. I open a poetry book to a page, any page. Invariably, the poem that is there is my favorite in the collection. It never fails.

I got a poetry book from Kelly for my birthday. Kelly introduced me to the poet Linda Pastan, and gave me her "Carnival Evening". Sure enough, on my very first "opening", I found the poem I love best -- let me share it with you now.

Excursion

I am a tourist

in my own life,

gazing at the exotic shapes

of flowers

as if someone else

had planted them;

barred

from the half-lit rooms

of children

by an invisible

velvet rope.

The dresses in my closet

are costumes

for a different woman,

though I hide myself

in their silky textures.

The man asleep

in my bed

knows me best

in the dark.

~Linda Pastan

I'm not going to draw you the parallels, but suffice it to say, the moment I read it, it was as if I wrote it... so many similar thoughts. A wonderful gift on a great birthday. (Oh, and the poem encompasses my favorite word in all of poetry, one I use over and over in my own poems... "velvet").

That's Pastan, below.