June 13
Rhode Island is Famous for You
The blue forest, chilled and blue, like the lips of the dead,
show life when brought to the public eye in June,
the month of twins who divide their lives in two
or spend hours pursuing the ghost of a lover. Stacey
and I drive to the swimming pool and Blossom Dearie
sings "Rhode Island is Famous For You," which always
makes Stacey think of Denise Duhamel, born this day
in Woonsocket, R. I. Other children of June 13 include
Yeats, Pessoa, and Tony Towle, each of whom is a cousin
of yours, Denise, pursuing the arrow of greatness, but of none
of whom is it true that Rhode Island, smallest
and possibly most underrated state, is famous for you.
And the lips that were cold and blue when this poem
began have the warmth of June and the charm of a kiss.
-- David Lehman
Happy birthday, dear Denise! Much love from Emily
Posted by: Emily Fragos | June 13, 2023 at 05:07 PM
Happy Birthday Denise! I hope we can celebrate you in person soon!
Posted by: Stacey | June 14, 2023 at 12:50 PM
Thank you, Stacey and Emily! And thank you for the beautiful poem, David!!
As you can imagine, "Rhode Island is Famous For You" is my favorite song.
Posted by: Denise Duhamel | June 14, 2023 at 07:34 PM
Lovely poem David. Thank you.
Lovely "landing."
"... the charm of a kiss."
Miranda
Posted by: Miranda Beeson | June 17, 2023 at 06:53 AM