Monday, January 22, 2024

The First Two Stanzas of Black Earth by Marianne Moore

Openly, yes,

         With the naturalness

         Of the hippopotamus or the alligator

When it climbs out on the bank to experience the


Sun, I do these

Things which I do, which please

         No one but myself.  Now I breathe and now I am sub-

         Merged; the blemishes stand up and shout when the object

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I do these things which I do, which please no one but myself. So good. These are how my best days go. No commitments. No rush. A hippo or alligator climbing onto a bank to experience the Sun. I'm about it. I'm here for it. It me.

You could talk about the structure of the stanzas and how the lines run into each other but who needs to worry about that when the face value is already perfect. You were ahead of your time, Marianne Moore. The young people of the day call out to you in memes and tweets and text posts.

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