a tumblr for poems and writing.

FAQ page / ask / submit / online poetry directory / featured posts

run by: theoryoflostthings / yesyes / partythighs / rosiee / jessieflux

Because my husband would not read my poems,
I wrote one about how I did not love him.
In lines of strict iambic pentameter,
I detailed his coldness, his lack of humor.
It felt good to do this.

Stanza by stanza, I grew bolder and bolder.
Towards the end, struck by inspiration,
I wrote about my old boyfriend,
a boy I had not loved enough to marry
but who could make me laugh and laugh.
I wrote about a night years after we parted
when my husband’s coldness drove me from the house
and back to my old boyfriend.
I even included the name of a seedy motel
well-known for hosting quickies.
I have a talent for verisimilitude.

In sensuous images, I described
how my boyfriend and I stripped off our clothes,
got into bed, and kissed and kissed,
then spent half the night telling jokes,
many of them about my husband.
I left the ending deliberately ambiguous,
then hid the poem away
in an old trunk in the basement.

You know how this story ends,
how my husband one day loses something,
goes into the basement,
and rummages through the old trunk,
and he uncovers the hidden poem
and sits down to read it.

But do you hear the strange sounds
that floated up the stairs that day,
the sounds of an animal, its paw caught
in one of those traps with teeth of steel?
Do you see the wounded creature
at the bottom of the stairs,
his shoulders hunched over and shaking,
fist in his mouth and choking back sobs?
It was my husband paying tribute to my art.

my husband discovers poetry, diane lockward 
1 year ago June 21, 2011 via ghostwriters 314 notes #poetry #lit #diane lockward
  1. iknowyouwillbehappyhere reblogged this from ghostwriters
  2. moonspear reblogged this from grammatolatry
  3. itsbootime reblogged this from jeflew
  4. en-fait reblogged this from davidfloodsterwallace
  5. davidfloodsterwallace reblogged this from jeflew
  6. jeflew reblogged this from mythologisingme
  7. mythologisingme reblogged this from emmajanefalconer
  8. falsealarms reblogged this from grammatolatry
  9. ascendent reblogged this from jillianomicon
  10. sniggadoodles reblogged this from sniggadoodles
  11. rjxr reblogged this from grammatolatry
  12. fatbottomedgal reblogged this from jillianomicon
  13. reigningonheaven reblogged this from gusings
  14. gamgeee reblogged this from gusings
  15. gusings reblogged this from robotnoise
  16. robotnoise reblogged this from jillianomicon
  17. jillianomicon reblogged this from nadrismy
  18. nadrismy reblogged this from grammatolatry
  19. prettyprettypoems reblogged this from grammatolatry
  20. 334534 reblogged this from grammatolatry
  21. spanghew reblogged this from arsvitaest
  22. frozenseawithin reblogged this from onehundreddollars