Last Day of July

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The 7th month has come and it is hours away from being done. There will never be a July 2013 again…or perhaps it has always been and remains for eternity? Anyway, if you live in New York and take the subway, you would have noticed the poems on the trains; Poetry in Motion is what they are calling them. Poems are posted for a couple of weeks at a time before they are replaced. The new one is here and Namra saw it before I did so he sent me a copy. I love it so much I am sharing it with you! On the #7 to Flushing on Monday, I saw it for myself and it was just as beautiful as reading it off of my phone. I would like to remember it for August, for September, for December, forever.

The Good Life
by Tracy K. Smith

When some people talk about money
They speak as if it were a mysterious lover
Who went out to buy milk and never
Came back, and it makes me nostalgic
For the years I lived on coffee and bread,
Hungry all the time, walking to work on payday
Like a woman journeying for water
From a village without a well, then living
One or two nights like everyone else
On roast chicken and red wine

This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. Olivia Lovejoy

    that IS a great poem! thanks for sharing Jane! I miss Poetry in Motion. It was one of the better things about commuting.

  2. Jane Odartey

    Yes, Olivia! It at least gives me somewhere to politely stare at. And it is rewarding in its engagement. I'm glad you like the poem!

  3. rocio.u

    Thanks for sharing it. I read it this morning on the C into the city. Loved it and now that you have posted it, I can reshare it. 🙂

  4. Jane Odartey

    Ahh! That's cool! Glad you love it, too. Thank you so much for the comment and for sharing it! 😀

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