Lyrikzeitung & Poetry News
Das Archiv der Lyriknachrichten | Seit 2001 | News that stays news
77. When I was young
Rita Dove
Singsong
When I was young, the moon spoke in riddles
and the stars rhymed. I was a new toy
waiting for my owner to pick me up.
When I was young, I ran the day to its knees.
There were trees to swing on, crickets to capture.
I was narrowly sweet, infinitely cruel,
tongued in hones and coddled in milk,
sunburned and silvery and scabbed like a colt.
And the world was already old.
And I was older than I am today.
When I was a child, the thing I liked to do most of all was escape what I was supposed to do. That’s I think one of the laws of childhood: to escape what you’re supposed to do. The moments I remember most are the moments I snatched from, times I was supposed to be doing chores, or reading. And this poem, which is a new poem talks about those kinds of moments (…)
One Comment on “77. When I was young”
Hinterlasse einen Kommentar
Neueste Kommentare
 | ranranshi bei Lauter Bschiss |
| Félin Murr bei Im Wald | |
 | dazzling95a12c325d bei Der ordentliche Mensch la… |
| Gabriele Schreib M A bei Leute! nehmt Abschied! | |
 | angelikajanz bei Forscher im Freudenrausch, und… |
 | Karin Monteiro Zwahl… bei Das wars schon |
 | Mail Artists' Index bei Martin Bernhardt (1961-2000) |
| 300. Geburtstag eine… bei 300. Geburtstag eines Dic… | |
 | Postobskure Dichtung… bei 109. Meine Anthologie 78: Li B… |
Im Netz seit 1.1.2001
|
|
|
Lyrikzeitung & Poetry News 
In her book “On the Bus with Rosa Park” Rita Dove dedicated a full section about children and the old days which is named “Freedom: Bird’s Eye View” that consists of poems variously addressed to or spoken from childhood. These range from generic songs of innocence like „Singsong“ and „Testimonial“ („When I was young, the moon spoke in riddles“; „I was pirouette and flourish, / I was filigree and flame“).
LikeLike