A Pin Hole of Light
July 26, 2017 |
| Photo courtesy Ezgi Platin |
Introduction by Ted Kooser: Kay Ryan was our nation’s
Poet Laureate at The Library of Congress for the 2008-2010 terms. Her poetry is
celebrated for its compression; she can get a great deal into a few words.
Here’s an example of a poem swift and accurate as a dart.
Pinhole
We say
pinhole.
A pin hole
of light. We
can’t imagine
how bright
more of it
could be,
the way
this much
defeats night.
It almost
isn’t fair,
whoever
poked this,
with such
a small act
to vanquish
blackness.
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 ©2011 by Kay Ryan, whose most recent book of poems is Odd
Blocks, Selected and New Poems, Carcanet Press, 2011. Poem reprinted from
Poetry, October 2011, by permission of Kay Ryan and the publisher. Introduction
copyright 2012 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.
2 comments
Dear Kathy - this poem says so much - truly in just a few words. Funny you included light as your subject this week - was thinking about it the other morning. Just a tiny bit certainly dispels the darkness. Take care and have a delightful day. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Debbie. The poem packs a lot into a few words. Hope you have a light-filled weekend!
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