Awake the mind’s hopeless so
At a quarter to six I rise
And run 2 or 3 miles in
The pristine air of a dark
And windy winter morning
With a light rain falling
And no sound but the pad
Of my sneakers on the asphalt
And the calls of the owls in
The cypress trees on Mesa Road
And when I get back you’re
Still asleep under the warm covers
Because love is here to stay
It’s another day and we’re both still alive
__________
“Every Day” by Tom Clark. You’ll find it in his collection (that I haven’t read yet) Light and Shade: New and Selected Poems.
I snapped the picture in my study a few hours ago.
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waxnwings said:
reads out loud so nice ty for sharing
jrbenjamin said:
I agree; you can hear the patter of the sneakers on the asphalt. I also like the opening line, as it abruptly opens with “Awake” and moves quickly to the action of the poem. Another feature that’s nice is the location — Mesa Road — as it contextualizes the poem within a particular life, then allows it to fan out onto a more general conclusion in the final few lines.