Valentine for Ernest Mann Poem by Naomi Shihab Nye

Valentine for Ernest Mann

Rating: 4.5


You can't order a poem like you order a taco.
Walk up to the counter, say, "I'll take two"
and expect it to be handed back to you
on a shiny plate.

Still, I like your spirit.
Anyone who says, "Here's my address,
write me a poem," deserves something in reply.
So I'll tell a secret instead:
poems hide. In the bottoms of our shoes,
they are sleeping. They are the shadows
drifting across our ceilings the moment
before we wake up. What we have to do
is live in a way that lets us find them.

Once I knew a man who gave his wife
two skunks for a valentine.
He couldn't understand why she was crying.
"I thought they had such beautiful eyes."
And he was serious. He was a serious man
who lived in a serious way. Nothing was ugly
just because the world said so. He really
liked those skunks. So, he re-invented them
as valentines and they became beautiful.
At least, to him. And the poems that had been hiding
in the eyes of skunks for centuries
crawled out and curled up at his feet.

Maybe if we re-invent whatever our lives give us
we find poems. Check your garage, the off sock
in your drawer, the person you almost like, but not quite.
And let me know.

Saturday, May 9, 2015
Topic(s) of this poem: valentine
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Fabrizio Frosini 14 May 2016

a very good example of ''ARS POETICA'' ;)

10 2 Reply
Zanor Bell 09 May 2015

woow! i really like this. its really profound i'd say. keep up the good job! :)

2 0 Reply
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Naomi Shihab Nye

Naomi Shihab Nye

St. Louis, Missouri
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