I'd rather rage against the dying of the light.
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@Snip Me too, I find a good rage session leaves me hungry and ready to watch some really frivolous television.
Ageing is not giving up things as much as tuning in to things I never had time to contemplate before. Before.....when I was answering email, deleting spam, rushing to meet deadlines and meetings that were meaningless to me, ignoring friends I longed to have a chat with, passing over headlines that I had no time to think about....
Ageing is a time to reacquaint oneself with one's body, soul, and mind. Ageing is the time to look at one's spouse and remember the fun, the good times. Ageing is a time of smiles.
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@Lin Hopkins Aging is also a time to realize you can stop doing stuff that is aggravating because even if you succeed at the task it just leads to something you will never do again anyway. For example for years I would try to get the chain saw started in the spring and it would resist and I would pull and pull on the cord and fiddle with the carburetor and such and finally get it going which result in the shoulder hurting and I would cut some bit of wood. Now that the shoulder hurts before I try to get the thing started I realize that even if I did get it started I shouldn't use it because the shoulder will hurt worse, the back will be an added hurt and I might trip or something and bleed out in the backyard while the wife forgets I'm back there because she is watching a TV show about people redoing a house that is nicer that any house we will ever live in though ours is more than adequate and the kid next door will cut up the wood really fast for less money that that the copay at the emergency room would be for me if the electric got knocked out while I was out back using the saw which resulted in the wife remembering I was out back and finding me in a pickle tourniquet my leg and drive me to the hospital. So I can put the chain saw out by the road and someone will inevitably take it away for parts or whatever.
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@Lin Hopkins I don't see any where in the poem that reacquainting oneself with one's body, soul, and mind, or looking at one's spouse and remembering the fun, is precluded by old age. All of us are slowly making our way towards death, and at very old age, that end process is far more tangible. But writing a poem about that one aspect of aging, doesn't state the things you mention aren't also part of her life. I can have happiness and love around me but still have my quiet and still times of contemplation about my aging self.
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Bonjour; probably a very good poem/ Had it been one of my students I would have suggested that he/she reconsiders whether the threefold use of "And" is necessary. Bonsoir
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@Ambabelle
Yes, the three "Ands" are necessary.
And so is the "But."
Each conjunction is a little door between the little rooms of the house of the poem.
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Lovely poem. Thanks for sharing it. I hope I don’t have to give up the snow and moon as I age, but if I do, I hope I can do it with such magnanimity and grace.
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Please please keep the wonderful poetry coming! In our brutal age, poetry is one of our few grace notes.
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I love this. I love its unexpected and non-telegraphed images.
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Poems like hers with words as signposts that point to vivid imagery and spin the imagination are truly a gift.
I am unaware if this poem pertains to age, illness or both.
It touches on the raw and innocent way that we all surrender to some sort of letting go whether by illness, age or trauma.
I too am a poet and have submitted to the love stories call. I aspire to this kind of clarity.
Thank you for sharing this poem. As with any good work of art it alters perspective and either subtlety or wildly moves us closer to finding meaning within ourselves.
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@Kristie Connolly
It pertains to age. As I noted, Pastan is 87. But does it really matter?
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A truly beautiful poem by one of our most distinguished poets.
Thank you Rita Dove for this blessing.
And thanks to the New York Times for bringing back the "Comment" button.
I never understood why it was eliminated.
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