What Does Old Look Like?

There's Something In Life That's A Curtain, And I Keep Trying To Raise It.

Let My Life As Poet Begin. I Want The Life Of The Poet. I Have Labored For Over Twelve Years, One Thousand Pages Of Prose. Now, I Want The Easiness Of Poetry. The Brevity Of The Poem.

To Shut The Door At The End Of The Workday, Which Does Not Spill Over Into Evening. To Throw Away Books After Reading Them So Theydon't Have To Be Dusted. To Go Through Boxes On New Year's Eve And Throw Out Half Of What Is Inside. Sometimes For Extravagance To Pick A Bunch Of Flowers For The One Table. Other Women Besides Me Must Have This Daydream About A Carefree Life.

You Must Not Tell Anyone,' My Mother Said, 'what I Am About To Tell You.'

How Unlike A Dead Fish A Live Fish Is.