Poem of the Day
Study of Children
By Asha Futterman
did you know
that you all work for me?
I asked them as a joke
did you know
that you all work for me?
I asked them as a joke
The gargle of water through the pipes
The rattle of water in the ceramic tub,
and the day is washed off, but what's clean?
A long silk
is pulled quickly
over my upturned palms
The unsigned architecture of loneliness
is becoming taller, finding a way farther
above the horizontal flowering
of the Cold War, the peonies
The frail smoke and virtues of the season blind
us, almost with hands, and which of us can instruct
the other now? I will have to find your body
A day too large for the summer, standing up
out of the bus lanes, puzzled on its face
like the miniaturist who becomes famous
The near past and the near future are poor,
with no accession of hands, no bright legs—
useless, untender absences with bronze torsos.
At dawn, in that uncertain time,
As restless as the earth to bear
The new late rain, I walk knee-deep
The strong horseshoe shape of a horse’s mouth
Of his teeth, set that way of a suitcase handle
And the way a bit, in just that way, pulls him:
There are many facts in the world.
Most are passengers, but some
Drive the car.
Sinking my teeth deep into you,
I feel no guilt.
You knew I was coming.