11.24.15

Sometimes the explanation is as beautiful as the poem. I get my poem-a-day fix from poetry.org, and their format has a little blurb from the author below (unless the poems are older and in the public domain). Often I don't choose to read the blurbs, because sometimes contextual explanations seem "too easy" when doing a close reading. I.e. "Oh look, here is the author explaining the inspiration for this work" versus digging through my own thoughts to pull something out. However, they are often worth reading, since the authors clearly have something to say, often in more than one way.



Poet of an Ordinary Heartbreak




by Chris Abani




Who hasn’t been tempted by the sharp edge of a knife?
An ordinary knife cutting ordinary tomatoes on
an ordinary slab of wood on an ordinary Wednesday.
The knife nicks, like a bite to the soul. A reminder
that what is contemplated is as real as the blood
sprouting from a finger. As real as a bruised eye.
Instead turn back to the meat stewing on the stove.
Scrape pulpy red flesh into the heat and turn.
Say: even this is a prayer. Even this.




And here is the author's blurb:

About This Poem

 

“I wrote this poem from the point of view of my mother. There were sometimes difficult moments between my parents, and I have since wondered how she mediated her pain and anger and what I would have done. It is really about the fact that our most ordinary moments are often poised on the edge of a very deep abyss and that only an uneasy grace keeps us from going over the edge.”
—Chris Abani

Isn't that beautiful?