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April 2011 Moms
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a poem for today :-)

shaindelrshaindelr member
in April 2011 Moms

We studied this one in Intro to Lit today, and it made me think of how we talk about having our "own time" when our LOs are asleep. I hope you ladies enjoy it. 

Dance Russe  by William Carlos Williams

If I when my wife is sleeping
and the baby and Kathleen
are sleeping
and the sun is a flame-white disc
in silken mists
above shining trees,--
if I in my north room
dance naked, grotesquely
before my mirror
waving my shirt round my head
and singing softly to myself:
"I am lonely, lonely.
I was born to be lonely,
I am best so!"
If I admire my arms, my face,
my shoulders, flanks, buttocks
again the yellow drawn shades,--

Who shall say I am not
the happy genius of my household?

c. 1917

MacAndCheese
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Re: a poem for today :-)

  • ITGurl0626ITGurl0626 member

    Love it!!!!

    That poem speaks to me.  It is telling me that being alone is great, there is nothing to fear about it. 

     

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  • shaindelrshaindelr member
    imageITGurl0626:

    Love it!!!!

    That poem speaks to me.  It is telling me that being alone is great, there is nothing to fear about it. 

    And that "you" time is freeing... Even if it is dancing naked and singing to yourself Wink William Carlos Williams was a pediatrician by trade, and this was written in 1917, so it was interesting hearing my students talk about how "freeing" this must have been for him.

    MacAndCheese
    Mac and cheese lover!
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker


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  • nettie27nettie27
    I love the word usage of "grotesquely"! Just brought it to life!
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  • SandiaPinaMamaSandiaPinaMama member

    How delicious!  I do feel like "the happy genius of my household" when I come home from running a quick 2 miler before bed and LO is sleeping on his papa's chest.  Happy mommy, happy baby, happy papa! 

    Interestingly enough, I read this, despite the reference to the sleeping wife in the first line, thinking that it was a woman narrator.  I didn't even catch it until you mentioned his name in your comment below.  Funny how our brains work sometimes, huh?

    Thanks for sharing.  Sometimes the literature you post is the only decent writing I get to read.  


    BFP#1 "Watermelon" born 3/2011
    BFP#2 "Pumpkin" 7/14/12 ~ EDD 3/23/13 ~ Natural M/C 8/3/12 @ 7 weeks
    BFP#3 "Pineapple"  born 4/2013
    BFP#4 "Grapefruit" EDD 3/29/16
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  • shaindelrshaindelr member
    imagewatermelon mom:

    How delicious!  I do feel like "the happy genius of my household" when I come home from running a quick 2 miler before bed and LO is sleeping on his papa's chest.  Happy mommy, happy baby, happy papa! 

    Interestingly enough, I read this, despite the reference to the sleeping wife in the first line, thinking that it was a woman narrator.  I didn't even catch it until you mentioned his name in your comment below.  Funny how our brains work sometimes, huh?

    Thanks for sharing.  Sometimes the literature you post is the only decent writing I get to read.  

    We're working on the summer issue of Contrary, so that will be out soon! I just emailed a few hundred poems to Helday, the world's best Assistant Editor :-)

    MacAndCheese
    Mac and cheese lover!
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker


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