Archive for the 'ron koertge' Category

First Grade by Ron Koertge

February 13th, 2010 Comments(0)

I read this one at American Life in Poetry. I think that one could probably write a book about things believed at age 5. I like how Koertge has distilled this to a few (unconnected) items in the first stanza.

First Grade
By Ron Koertge

Until then, every forest
had wolves in it, we thought
it would be fun to wear snowshoes
all the time, and we could talk to water.

So who is this woman with the gray
breath calling out names and pointing
to the little desks we will occupy
for the rest of our lives?

Even Ornaments of Speech are Forms of Deceit by Ron Koertge

May 25th, 2009 Comments(0)

This is another one from 180 More. I’m reminded of Permanently by Kenneth Koch. I like this one because, despite my love of poetry, I’m a very reason-oriented person and like for things to be 1) explainable and 2) ordered. I’m amused by the personification of these “ornaments of speech”.

“Even Ornaments of Speech are Forms of Deceit”
                                        HISTORY OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY
By Ron Koertge

It’s 1667. Reason is everywhere, saving
for the future, ordering a small glass of wine.
Cause, arm in arm with Effect, strolls by
in sturdy shoes.

Of course, there are those who venture
out under cover of darkness to buy a bag
of metaphors or even some personification
from Italy, primo and uncut.

But for the most part, poets like Roderigo
stroll the boulevards in their normal hats.
When he thinks of his beloved, he opens
his notebook with a flourish.

“Your lips,” he writes, “are like
lips.”