[As one of my currently living favorite authors (Jon Carroll of the SF Chron) has pointed out--not everything we choose to write about is autobiographical. The following poem is not--when it hit my in-box earlier this week, I was thrilled to see a poem by Keillor and I actually do love the images in this poem. ] Happy first Friday of the year!
When Love is lost, the laughter's good and
gone,
The sun sinks down, the heavy fog rolls in,
Nothing is left to say and you know that no
good
Will ever come of this,
Life will never again be miraculous.
Tall dark woman in the café, I see
How the tears glitter in your blue eyes.
You drink black coffee for bravery
And weep onto the front page of the Times.
I had a love once too who now is gone, is
gone, she's gone. The waves roll along
The coast, the sweet summer rain blows in.
If I knew you, I'd sit by your side and
sing:
This world is not our home, we're only
passing through.
"In A Cafe" by Garrison Keillor
What an interesting poem. Didn't know our Garrison wrote poems on his own, but why not; he has the sing-song hesitation of the poet in his reading voice, so he might as well write.
ReplyDeleteThe poem's central loveliness for me is the song he would sing. Thinking of the words -- a simple country hymn about a far away heaven, and the incompatibility of most people to this earth -- that is a sweet crumb of comfort to offer to anyone, stranger or friend.
Yes, can't you just hear him reciting this? And I think it would be nice to have someone sit and sing to the heartbroken.
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