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from the issue of February 21, 2008
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American Life in Poetry
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006
There's a world of great interest and significance right under our feet, but most of us don't think to look down. We spend most of our time peering off into the future, speculating on how we will deal with whatever is coming our way. Or dwelling on the past. Here Ed Ochester stops in the middle of life to look down.
What the Frost Casts Up
A crown of handmade nails, as though
there were a house here once, burned,
where we've gardened for 15 years;
the ceramic top of an ancient fuse;
this spring the tiny head
of a plastic doll -
not much compared to what they find
in England, where every now and then
a coin of the Roman emperors, Severus
or Constantius, works its way up, but
something, as though nothing we've
ever touched wants to stay in the earth,
the patient artifacts waiting,
having been lost
or cast away, as though they
couldn't bear
the parting, or because
they are the only
messengers from lives
that were important once,
waiting for the power of the frost
to move them to the mercy
of our hands.
Poem copyright (c) 2001 by Ed Ochester. Reprinted from "Unreconstructed: Poems Selected and New" by Ed Ochester, Autumn House Press, 2007, by permission of the author and publisher. Introduction copyright (c) 2008 by The Poetry Foundation. This column is made possible by the Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org) and supported by the UNL Department of English. This column does not accept unsolicited poetry.
GO TO: ISSUE OF FEBRUARY 21
ARTS HEADLINES FOR FEBRUARY 21
Contrasts in print
'American Daughter' examines tribulations of presidential nominee
American Life in Poetry
Exhibit showcases Gao's textile work
FAMILY INTERVIEW
Grad work celebration is Feb. 29
'Nicholas Boylston' painting focus of Feb. 24 Sheldon lecture
Ross hosts 'The String Beans' Feb. 23
Sheldon 'College Night' is Feb. 26
Theatrix productions open Feb. 21
UNL Opera opens 'Dead Man Walking' Feb. 21
Work of 30 artists featured in March 8 Art and Art History MEDICI fundraiser
733093S37928X
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