Okay, I finally responded to Maureen's prompt for NaPoWriMo. I indirectly followed the prompt by taking one of the lines from Naomi Shihab Nye's poem "One Boy Told Me" as an epigram and jumping from that to a true story about my encounter with her.
Knocking Over
Something
It is hard being
a person.
- Naomi Shihab Nye, "One Boy Told Me"
Dear
Naomi,
I never properly apologized
for the day I sat next to you
at the Princeton Poetry Festival
and knocked over your tote bag
full of papers and books.
Yeah, that was me.
I'm
sure I mumbled, "Sorry,"
but you were rightfully annoyed
and probably didn't hear me
as you gathered your things
and sat silently next to me at the reading.
It was a hell of a way
to meet someone famous.
But
I love your work, including the poem
I cited above. That little boy is right—
it's hard to be a person.
Too often I knock over something,
make the wrong turn,
miss an appointment,
anger someone I admire.
But we are all only human.
So forgive me if you can,
- Naomi Shihab Nye, "One Boy Told Me"
I never properly apologized
for the day I sat next to you
at the Princeton Poetry Festival
and knocked over your tote bag
full of papers and books.
Yeah, that was me.
but you were rightfully annoyed
and probably didn't hear me
as you gathered your things
and sat silently next to me at the reading.
It was a hell of a way
to meet someone famous.
I cited above. That little boy is right—
it's hard to be a person.
Too often I knock over something,
make the wrong turn,
miss an appointment,
anger someone I admire.
But we are all only human.
So forgive me if you can,
and
I will be diligent enough
to forgive myself.
to forgive myself.
2 comments:
Bruce: very cool. You should send this poem to Naomi Shihab Nye. Maybe in a letter rather than an email. That way, it would become a real apology!
I'm sure she would love it. Do it!!! If the only way to get comments is via email, please use jubob2@hotmail.com and not jubob47@gmail.com
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