poems for Wednesday

sugar is smoking
by Jason Schneiderman


it's amazing how death

is always around the corner,

or not even so far away

as that, hiding in the little pleasures

that some of us would go

so far as to say

are the only things

keeping us alive



About This Poem

"When I wrote this, I was thinking about how a coping mechanism can outlast the trauma you have to cope with, and how any accomplishment also contains a seed of self-destruction. I recommend pairing this poem with a chilled glass of Sutter Home Moscato, followed by the Pet Shop Boys song 'Was it Worth It?' The poem is dedicated to Mark Bittman."
--Jason Schneiderman



Life is Fine
by Langston Hughes


I went down to the river,

I set down on the bank.

I tried to think but couldn't,

So I jumped in and sank.


I came up once and hollered!

I came up twice and cried!

If that water hadn't a-been so cold

I might've sunk and died.


But it was Cold in that water! It was cold!


I took the elevator

Sixteen floors above the ground.

I thought about my baby

And thought I would jump down.


I stood there and I hollered!

I stood there and I cried!

If it hadn't a-been so high

I might've jumped and died.


But it was High up there! It was high!


So since I'm still here livin',

I guess I will live on.

I could've died for love—

But for livin' I was born


Though you may hear me holler,

And you may see me cry—

I'll be dogged, sweet baby,

If you gonna see me die.


Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!



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borrowed from http://www.poets.org