Written in response to Billy Collin's poem Aimless Love, (Nine Horses)
Billy Collins falls in love
with something everyday;
a wren, a flower, a dead mouse.
And, when the affairs are over,
he simply eats the orange or
finishes the wine, dusts off the
crooked painting and disposes of
the dead.
And then what? Another book deal?
What did I fall in love with today?
The glassy-eyed smirk you gave
me when you woke up from surgery.
Letting you sleep with the dog in our
bed when I brought you home from
the hospital.
Fixing you hot potato soup for dinner
garnished with fresh deli ham, roast beef
and provolone cheese.
Same thing I fall in love with everyday.
I wonder how many people would buy
a book of poetry entitled You ?
Eve Meredith Brackenbury
AuthorNation.com
-----------oooooooooo-----------
Aimless Love
This morning as I walked along the lakeshore,
I fell in love with a wren
and later in the day with a mouse
the cat had dropped under the dining room table.
In the shadows of an autumn evening,
I fell for a seamstress
still at her machine in the tailor’s window,
and later for a bowl of broth,
steam rising like smoke from a naval battle.
This is the best kind of love, I thought,
without recompense, without gifts,
or unkind words, without suspicion,
or silence on the telephone.
The love of the chestnut,
the jazz cap and one hand on the wheel.
No lust, no slam of the door –
the love of the miniature orange tree,
the clean white shirt, the hot evening shower,
the highway that cuts across Florida.
No waiting, no huffiness, or rancor –
just a twinge every now and then
for the wren who had built her nest
on a low branch overhanging the water
and for the dead mouse,
still dressed in its light brown suit.
But my heart is always propped up
in a field on its tripod,
ready for the next arrow.
After I carried the mouse by the tail
to a pile of leaves in the woods,
I found myself standing at the bathroom sink
gazing down affectionately at the soap,
so patient and soluble,
so at home in its pale green soap dish.
I could feel myself falling again
as I felt its turning in my wet hands
and caught the scent of lavender and stone.
~ Billy Collins ~
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has."
~Margaret Mead
Coffee Table Poetry's GUEST BOOK is a division of Coffee Table Poetry for Tea Drinkers, and is updated often. The easiest way to enjoy the selections from talented fellow poets is to select E-mail or RSS Reader. Also, come follow us on Twitter. We look forward to sharing your own beautiful poetry with the world.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tUUcbaBg3wGzTSZn08kzhy9j4uNH5V7--kgV4v7HMm5qV2v6w7M5TwbPMVKNbzB5_WRgDG-OMRdsuBGWmKZUkUK9EjyCq0z5uSHxX_AjiFtyGxg11BrEDnd6FxqSOFZRu_BuYdbMJ-4mvivQwBOOlt=s0-d)
