21 Comments

A wonderful piece of verse. The flow of this piece is incredibly captivating and the use of line breaks are masterful!

Expand full comment

wonderful poem--I love the Morse code messages of the coffee container--and the ending--a great

tie of all the themes of the poem

Expand full comment

I LOVE this! The words so eloquently and heartbreakingly speak to "the long goodbye". Well done!

Expand full comment

Oh heartbreak!

Expand full comment

Wonderful poem, Sylvia! So powerful!

Expand full comment

This site makes it too hard to comment. I like this poem.

Expand full comment

I don't get how this is a poem. Why not call it what it really appears to be - a very good piece of flash fiction. For me there has to be some nod towards a poetic structure of some kind to call something a poem.

Expand full comment

What a wonderful, moving poem. I had fear and tears in my eyes as I read this.

Expand full comment

I love how you brought it all together in the sweetness of the ending. My grandparents came from the same region but never talked about it either, so this had special resonance for me.

Expand full comment

I love the music and the humor of this poem. How smartly it talks about the intertwined angst of living and writing or writing while living, maybe vice versa.

Expand full comment

I love the specificity of Amy Miller's poem, and the great connection between the reader of the poetry book and the speaker's very ordinary experience with the waitress. And I love the idea of poems "winning us over" with images of everyday life.

Expand full comment

Dear Ms. Levine,

This is a beautiful poem. The way that you create such intricate characters and stories with a brush stroke. Tender and moving. I teach a workshop on writing narrative poetry and look forward to introducing my students to this poem.

Thank you,

Gloria Heffernan

Expand full comment

The moon as a kind

of kindness masterminding the landscape.

Gorgeous poem! Every line.

Expand full comment

Time as the ocean and stories as paper boats … wonderful. Thanks for this poem I’m not sure I would have found it otherwise.

Expand full comment

I am particularly drawn to this style of poetry. I don't have children and you might think this poem would not resonate with me however it more than did. And I was also deeply drawn to how you have exposed the natural complications of the mother/daughter relationship. I have read this poem over several times and 'felt' it more each time. It left me wondering about what I've missed and also left me in awe once again at the measure of a Mother....

Expand full comment

Gorgeous poem!

Expand full comment