Hailey Leithauser. Photo by Sandra Beasley.
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Zen Heaven
No melon, no lemon, no scone, no crumb,
no tuns of gin or barrels of bourbon,
no chocolate chiffon, no filet mignon.
No bumped shins, no bunions, no rain-ached bones,
no lesions or abrasions, no spasms,
nothing swollen, fallen, rotten, or numb.
No courtesans or virgins, no woman
or man. No estrogen, progesterone,
not one lone hormone to scorn or condone.
No vision, or mission, or chosen son,
no inaction or action, no outcome
of passion, no function, done or undone.
No lesson at the end, no dead dial tone.
No one in the tomb, no tomb, no tombstone.
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Hailey Leithauser is the author of Swoop, winner of the Poetry Foundation’s Emily Dickinson First Book Award, and Saint Worm. Her work appears regularly in journals such as 32 Poems, Agni, Cincinnati Review, Gettysburg Review, and The Yale Review.
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Relief panel from Borobudur, the Buddhist temple built in the 9th century A.D. in Java, Indonesia.
Having read this I feel lighter already. Like a Zen balloon. Loved it!
Posted by: Maureen Owen | October 31, 2021 at 12:50 PM
Brilliant use of rhyme. Fine poem. Kill ne but I longed for the last line to end with” Stone” Butvcome to think of it the end on an i accented syllable kind of proves her point.
Posted by: Clarinda | October 31, 2021 at 02:08 PM
Lives up its magical title. Kudos.
As Clarinda points out, the rhymes make it special, and I especially admire the wordplay ("melon" and "lemon" are anagrams in line one) at the service of the message embodied in trhe very title, "Zen Heaven."
Posted by: David Lehman | October 31, 2021 at 02:47 PM
Hailey Leithauser is what a poet should be. She uses a few words and they speak volumes. She has written some of my favorite poems and I wish more people knew her work.
Posted by: jinx taylor | October 31, 2021 at 05:28 PM
Actually "no melon, no lemon" is a palindrome. All of the poems in the book (with one exception just for fun) contain a palindrome
Posted by: Hailey Leithauser | October 31, 2021 at 05:28 PM
HAILEY's work is enormously fabulous. This column is precious for reminding us -like the song says -"of the one I love."
Posted by: gracecavalieri | October 31, 2021 at 07:00 PM
Great !! So musical !! .... Thank yOU!!
Posted by: Jack Skelley | October 31, 2021 at 07:27 PM
This poem, wonderful as it is, is just one example of Hailey's linguistic wizardry. If you've not read Swoop, run, don't walk, to get it. She is to word play as Tiger was to golf.
Posted by: Greg McBride | November 01, 2021 at 12:08 PM
Echoes of Bob Dylan, Dorothy Parker & Kay Ryan. Delightful read--a Zenster!
Posted by: Robert McDowell | November 01, 2021 at 06:36 PM
Love the palindrome -- even better than a mere anagram!
Posted by: David Lehman | November 02, 2021 at 12:15 PM
Anyone who thinks our spirit should learn to be free from our body should have some second thoughts after reading aloud this incisive poem.
Posted by: Peter Kearney | November 02, 2021 at 11:38 PM