2 Poems, by Caroline Gates-Lupton

Some Days


Some days
I like to walk along the bridge
the one over the river
beside the corn field.

Some days
I take an umbrella
just in case
the river is in the clouds.

Some days
the river is a roaring thing
turning pale rocks dark with wet
other days
it's nothing.


= = =

 
The Hour: a list-poem


The hour of not wanting it to happen.
The hour of the ladybugs.
The hour she came back.
The hour between dawn and sunrise.
The hour when nobody moved, not even one inch.
The hour I found you.
The hour of making bread.
The hour of inky hands and pencil-smudged cheeks.
The hour of cinnamon buns.
The hour of turning blue in the sea.
The hour of literary studies.
The hour no one prepared you for.
The hour you wish to forget.
The hour of waiting... forever.
The hour that left you behind.
The hour the clock broke.
The hour of the day of the year you were born.
The hour of evening.
The hour of sitting home with a cold on Halloween.
The hour of bright dresses and fancy hair.
The hour I missed you.
The hour after I meant to wake up.
The hour after the first time you heard that song.
The hour of silence.
The hour that lasts a month or two.
The hour of falling asleep.
The hour of waking up, slowly.
The hour of finding exactly the right kind of food.
The hour you can't do anything right.
The hour of creaky floors and old steps.
The hour the telephone didn't ring.
The hour nobody wants to remember.
The hour we'd all hate to forget.