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from the issue of September 6, 2007
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American Life in Poetry

BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006
Poet Marianne Boruch of Indiana finds a bird's nest near her door. It is the simplest of discoveries, yet she uses it to remind us that what at first seems ordinary, even "made a mess of," can be miraculously transformed upon careful reflection.

Nest
 I walked out, and the nest
 was already there by the step.
 Woven basket
 of a saint
 sent back to life as a bird
 who proceeded to make
 a mess of things. Wind
 right through it, and any eggs
 long vanished. But in my hand it was
 intricate pleasure, even the thorny reeds
 softened in the weave. And the fading
 leaf mold, hardly
 itself anymore, merely a trick
 of light, if light
 can be tricked. Deep in a life
 is another life. I walked out, the nest
 already by the step.

 Reprinted by permission of the author. Poem copyright (c) 1996 by Marianne Boruch, from "A Stick That Breaks And Breaks," Oberlin College Press, 1997, with permission of the author. First published in the journal "Field." Introduction copyright (c) 2006 by The Poetry Foundation. This weekly column is supported by the UNL Department of English and The Poetry Foundation. This column does not accept unsolicited poetry.
GO TO: ISSUE OF SEPTEMBER 6
ARTS HEADLINES FOR SEPTEMBER 6
Traveling art education program receives boost
American Life in Poetry
Composer to begin residency
Romanian double feature, Vietnamese family tale open Sept. 7 at the Ross
Sheldon hosts Sept. 7 opening for 'Seasonal Celebrations'
Student documentary premieres
Woods family donates Liu's 'Meal II' painting to Sheldon
'Year of the Great Plains Art Collection' continues
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