Crossroads
POETRY FORMAT, 2 Nov 2020
Louise Glück, Nobel Literature Laureate - TRANSCEND Media Service
My body, now that we will not be traveling together much longer
I begin to feel a new tenderness toward you, very raw and unfamiliar,
like what I remember of love when I was young —
love that was so often foolish in its objectives
but never in its choices, its intensities
Too much demanded in advance, too much that could not be promised —
My soul has been so fearful, so violent;
forgive its brutality.
As though it were that soul, my hand moves over you cautiously,
not wishing to give offense
but eager, finally, to achieve expression as substance:
it is not the earth I will miss,
it is you I will miss.
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Crossroads was originally published in Louise Glück’s 2009 book, A Village Life, later included in her collected Poems 1962–2012 (public library).
Louise Glück (1943 – ) is the recipient of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature and author of several collections of poetry including Poems 1962–2012 (public library). She served as a Chancellor for the Academy of American Poets and was the Library of Congress’s twelfth poet laureate consultant in poetry.
Tags: Louise Glück, Nobel Literature Prize, Poetry
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 2 Nov 2020.
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