kitchen illustrations

NO MORE NATURE POEMS
by Alice N. Persons

Okay, plenty of us like to look at birds.
Flowers are swell, sunsets,
trees, the stars -- all dandy.
But let's face it --
it's all been said, described,
covered
by thousands of writers.
What could we possibly say
that would improve
on the ancient Chinese poets, anyway?
I concede that a few poets since Li Po
have hit one out of the park,
but how many of us are Hopkins or Oliver?

I'm a city woman.
Give me poems with kitchen tables,
toast crumbs,
books and magazines,
Grandmother's plates,
postcards from Florida,
baby pictures,
Scrabble tiles,
the smell of Sunday roast,
the feel of the seats in Dad's old car,
the Thanksgiving menu that never changed

what it was like to leave,
how it feels to go back;
what you left,
what you carry with you --
all the messy, vivid indoor life
of the heart.

~ from Thank Your Lucky Stars (Moon Pie Press, 2011).