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My dog
whimpered
quietly
in his sleep.
His legs
were twitching –
he had a nightmare.
I woke him up
gently
with a lie:
“It’s all right,
I will never
leave you
alone.”
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Radio
I left it
on when I
left the house
for the pleasure
of coming back
ten hours later
to the greatness
of Teddy Wilson
"After You've Gone"
on the piano
in the corner
of the bedroom
as I enter
in the dark
from New and Selected Poems by David Lehman
How many of you out there ( without looking it up) can distinguish the proper usage of ALL of these words: lay . laid , laying, lie, lain and lying? I bet no one...and that's no lie.
Posted by: Joel Weiner | May 15, 2021 at 11:51 PM
Looks like a William Carlos Williams poem, but isn't. p.s. If no intent to deceive, then, no lie.
Posted by: Butch | May 16, 2021 at 10:22 AM
"I will love you forever" is not a statement to be judged by its accuracy, unlike "I will love you next Tuesday," which will turn out to be either true or false.
Posted by: David Lehman | May 16, 2021 at 04:20 PM
In my opinion, this moving poem is not about semantics or philosophy. It's about deep love and its heartbreak. Also, thank you for the great photo, Ms. Auerbach.
Posted by: Emily Fragos | May 25, 2021 at 05:00 PM