Introduction by Ted Kooser: Faced by a loss, and perhaps by a loss of words, many of us find something to do with our hands. Here's a poem about just that by Arden Levine, published in 2015 in an issue of Agni Magazine. Ms. Levine lives in New York.

Offering

She tells him she's leaving him and he

bakes a pie. His pies are exquisite,

their crusts like crinoline.

He doesn't change clothes, works

in slacks, shirtsleeves rolled.

Summer makes the kitchen unbearable

But he suffers beautifully, tenderly

cuts the strawberries, pours

into the deep curve of the bowl.

She hadn't missed his hands since

last they drew her to his body.

Now she watches them stroke the edges

of the dough, shape it like cooling glass.

When the oven opens, his brow drips,

he brings his hands to his face.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2015 by Arden Levine, “Offering,” (AGNI Magazine, 2015). Poem reprinted by permission of Arden Levine and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2016 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.