I wonder how you are going to feel
when you find out
that I wrote this instead of you.
that it was I who got up early
to sit in the kitchen
and mention with a pen
the rain-soaked windows,
the ivy wallpaper,
and the goldfish circling in its bowl.
Go ahead and turn aside,
bite your lip and tear out the page,
but, listen -- it was just a matter of time
before one of us happened
to notice the unlit candles
and the clock humming on the wall.
Plus, nothing happened that morning--
a song on the radio,
a car whistling along the road outside-
and I was only thinking
about the shakers of salt and pepper
that were standing side by side on a place mat.
I wondered if they had become friends
after all these years
or if they were still strangers to one another
like you and I
who manage to be known and unknown
to each other at the same time --
me at this table with a bowl of pears,
you leaning in a doorway somewhere
near some blue hydrangeas, reading this.
you, dear reader ~ billy collins
o thank you, thank you, dear readers..
i am grateful to whoever you are..
who read the words i float thru aire ..
known and unknown one anothers
who may take the time to peruse
some scrawls i find pertinent or wistful..
a few notes to note to you, reader.. dear reader..
if you would like to send word to me after a read thru
of blog slog.. critiques /delights, etc.
it must be done by sending me a separate email
peaceishealthy@gmail.com
who knows ? why one is unable to zip off
a note of thises and thats..right then and there..?
also, if you are receiving the peaceishealthy blogspot
chances are you have subscribed to it..
as i do not send it out personally to
each and everyone of you..
if you find it is a drag to receive it,
please feel free (and easy) to unsubscribe
by scrolling down
to the bottom of the full page of posts
and click the unsubscribe link..
the sweet thing about this is,
i will never know if you have deleted me
or kept me in your mailbox..
this is a good thing..
my feeling ( for i have only one..) will not be hurt
nor will you feel guilty for tossing me overboard..
a very win-win situation..
i am always charmed up to my eye bulbs
when i hear from you..
and so often quite surprised to find out
who actually reads the missives..
whether they be hits or misses..
may i extend my heartfelt gratitude
that we have somehow come in contact
with one another ~ whatever the proximity ~
shape-shifting thru time and space
to share a place of momentary simpatico-ness!
First, I would have her be beautiful,
and walking carefully up on my poetry
at the loneliest moment of an afternoon,
her hair still damp at the neck
from washing it. She should be wearing
a raincoat, an old one, dirty
from not having money enough for the cleaners.
She will take out her glasses, and there
in the bookstore, she will thumb
over my poems, then put the book back
up on its shelf. She will say to herself,
“For that kind of money, I can get
my raincoat cleaned.” And she will.
selecting a reader ~ ted kooser
