And to cap all this off, here is a poem by Billy Collins, one of my new favorite poets. He was poet laureate for a time (the big Poet Laureate, I believe) and he writes accessible, beautiful stuff. This is from his most recent collection called Aimless Love.
Fool Me Good
I am under the covers
waiting for the heat to come up
with a gurgle and hiss
and the banging of the water hammer
that will frighten the cold out of the room.
And I am listening to a blues singer
named Precious Bryant
singing a song called "Fool Me Good."
If you don't love me, baby, she sings,
would you please try to fool me good?
I am also stroking the dog's head
and writing down these words,
which means that I am calmly flying
in the face of the Buddhist advice
to do only one thing at a time.
Just pour the tea,
just look into the eye of the flower,
just sing the song --
one thing at a time
and you will achieve serenity,
which is what I wold love to do
as the fan-blades of the morning begin to turn.
If you don't love me, baby,
she sings,
as a day-moon fades in the window,
and the hands circle the clock,
would you please try to fool me good?
Yes, Precious, I reply,
I will fool you as good as I can,
but first I have to learn to listen to you
with my whole heart,
and not until you have finished
will I put on my slippers,
squeeze out some toothpaste,
and make a big foamy face in the mirror,
freshly dedicated to doing one thing at a time --
one note at a time for you, darling,
one tooth at at time for me.
