I was listening to National Public Radio as much as possible while traveling, and while doing so I was fortunate to catch The Writer's Almanac With Garrison Keillor. I heard him read the poem "I'll Be Seeing You" by Jo McDougall and l liked it so much I wanted to share it here:
World War II is slipping away, I can feel it.
Its officers are gray.
Their wives who danced at the USO
are gray, too.
Veterans forget their stories. Some lands they fought in
have new names, and Linda Venetti
who deserted the husband who raised cows
to run off with an officer
has come home to look after her mother
and work the McDonald's morning shift.
William Holden is dead,
and my mother, who knew all the words
to "When the Lights Go On Again All over the World."
The Writer's Almanac is a wonderful vessel for creative writing. I had sort of lost track of it since retiring and not listening to radio as much since then. I've now bookmarked the site so I can and will be treated to its offerings...like this...titled "Lessons" by Pat Schneider:
I have learned
that life goes on,
or doesn't.
That days are measured out
in tiny increments
as a woman in a kitchen
measures teaspoons
of cinnamon, vanilla,
or half a cup of sugar
into a bowl.
I have learned
that moments are as precious as nutmeg,
and it has occurred to me
that busy interruptions
are like tiny grain moths,
or mice.
They nibble, pee, and poop,
or make their little worms and webs
until you have to throw out the good stuff
with the bad.
It took two deaths
and coming close myself
for me to learn
that there is not an infinite supply
of good things in the pantry.
from Another River: New and Selected Poems. © Amherst Writers and Artists Press, 2005.
