Friday, August 19, 2011

I Wish I'd Written This

Wonderfully descriptive.
 
By Kim Addonizio

Afterwards you had that drunk, drugged look
my daughter used to get, when she had let go
of my nipple, her mouth gone slack and her eyes   
turned vague and filmy, as though behind them   
the milk was rising up to fill her
whole head, that would loll on the small
white stalk of her neck so I would have to hold her   
closer, amazed at the sheer power
of satiety, which was nothing like the needing
to be fed, the wild flailing and crying until she fastened   
herself to me and made the seal tight
between us, and sucked, drawing the liquid down   
and out of my body; no, this was the crowning
moment, this giving of herself, knowing
she could show me how helpless
she was—that’s what I saw, that night when you   
pulled your mouth from mine and
leaned back against a chain-link fence,
in front of a burned-out church: a man
who was going to be that vulnerable,
that easy and impossible to hurt.

from What Is This Thing Called Love.


















Click on the title to go to poetryfoundation.org's posting of First Kiss.  Click on the poet's name to learn more about Kim Addonizio.

10 comments:

  1. Wonderful, original description. Read it in one breath.
    Lorna Cahall

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, I wish I'd written it too. Beautiful on so many levels.

    ReplyDelete
  3. WOW! This is FANTASTIC!!! Thanks, Danny.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for sharing this, it is beautiful! I am really enjoying being introduced to poets work through this series. Thanks so much for doing it. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh my goodness ... I'm speechles.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is beautiful... thanks for sharing this ~

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is only the second poem I've read by Kim Addonzio, but I think she is one of my favorite contemporary poets. This is beautiful!

    ReplyDelete

This community is not meant to be used in a negative manner. We ask that you be respectful of all the people on this site as each individual writer is entitled to their own opinion, style, and path to creativity.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Blog Archive

Followers