(For 2012 National (US) Poetry Month celebrations)
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Yesterday Lu of Regular Rumination posted a short poem by D. Nurkse. She said, in her intro, that she “likes long poems, but a very short poem that packs a punch will always steal my heart.” I agree completely.
Today’s poem, “Grown Up” is written by the late American feminist poet Edna St. Vincent Millay. She is unflinchingly honest and witty and at her best when writing about women and our relationships. I love the poem “I, Being Born a Woman and Distressed” in which she rejects sexual power and its associated “frenzy” as “insufficient reason/ For conversation when we meet again”.
In “Grown Up”, she captures the emotions of both the child and the adult quite brilliantly. Enjoy!
Grown Up
Was it for this I uttered prayers
And sobbed and cursed and kicked the stairs,
That now, domestic as a plate,
I should retire at half-past eight?- Edna St Vincent Millay
from The Collected Poems by Edna St Vincent Millay
April 18, 2012 at 11:27 am
Sorry for the typos. Please delete previous post. Beautiful poem! Captures a lot with few words.
April 20, 2012 at 10:27 am
Done! It does doesn’t it. I’m back around and will be in touch soon.
April 18, 2012 at 11:38 am
lol… retire at half past eight.
There’s no such fanciful things about growing. Those things we perceived growing up to be are like mirages. We shall never catch them.
April 20, 2012 at 10:30 am
Agree completely and she portrays the disappointment and exasperation well.
April 18, 2012 at 4:28 pm
Brilliant as ever no matter the length
Have you seen this clip of Maya Angelou reciting “Conscientious Objector”? http://video.pbs.org/video/1699019050/
April 20, 2012 at 10:32 am
Thanks for the clip.
April 18, 2012 at 8:31 pm
Been right there, Edna! Thanks for shring this, Kinna.
April 20, 2012 at 10:33 am
You are welcome, Debbie. I intend catching up on your progress with your many challenges soon.
April 19, 2012 at 8:16 am
Fantastic lines.
April 20, 2012 at 10:33 am
Geosi: While I was away you came back. Good to see you posting again.
April 19, 2012 at 3:34 pm
She’s amazing, even when she’s being funny.
April 20, 2012 at 10:34 am
She masks her sarcasm with such wit.
April 21, 2012 at 4:17 pm
It is wonderful. I only know one of her poems, which is the one you quoted earlier in the post. I love that ‘insufficient reason.’ I don’t read much poetry, but I think I will look out for her. Thanks for the nudge.
April 23, 2012 at 12:36 am
Oh that is just lovely! Edna St. Vincent Millay is a favorite poet of mine and this poem shows just why. So insightful AND funny. Thank you for sharing and linking back to my blog!