I Stop Writing the Poem by Tess Gallagher
I had some time over the weekend to read more of Garrison Keillor’s Good Poems so I’ve augmented my file a bit. Here’s a selection. I’m very touched by this because I know my mother gave up a lot for her children and I truly admire and love her for it.
I Stop Writing the Poem
By Tess Gallagher
to fold the clothes. No matter who lives
or who dies, I’m still a woman.
I’ll always have plenty to do.
I bring the arms of his shirt
together. Nothing can stop
our tenderness. I’ll get back
to the poem. I’ll get back to being
a woman. But for now
there’s a shirt, a giant shirt
in my hands, and somewhere a small girl
standing next to her mother
watching to see how it’s done.
