Act III, Sc. 2

by Jorie Graham

Look she said this is not the distance
we wanted to stay at—We wanted to get
close, very close. But what
is the way in again? And is it

too late? She could hear the actions
rushing past—but they are on
another track. And in the silence,
or whatever it is that follows,

there was still the buzzing: motes, spores,
aftereffects and whatnot recalled the morning after.
Then the thickness you can’t get past called waiting.

Then the you, whoever you are, peering down to see if it’s done yet.
Then just the look on things being looked-at.
Then just the look of things being seen.

​

Graham ​is a powerhouse of contemporary American poetry. When you start to become enamored of her thoughtful and open mind, the turn her words make, you can also begin to sense the vast continent of her work you have to yet encounter reaching out to you through even her simplest of lines.

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