#npm15 -- Michael Blumenthal, Here You Are

I haven't read enough of Michael Blumenthal's work, but I like what I've read! That's part of the joy of National Poetry Month -- finding new poets.

Here You Are

by Michael Blumenthal

It’s such a relief to see the woman you love walk out the door some nights

for it’s ten o’clock and you need your eight hours of sleep

and one glass of wine has been more than enough

and, as for lust – well, you can live without it most days

and you are glad, too, the Ukrainian masseuse you see every Wednesday

is not in love with you, and has no plans to be, for it is the pain

in your back you need relief from most, not that ambiguous itch,

and the wild successes of your peers no longer bother you

nor do your unresolved religious cravings or the general injustice

of the world, no, there is very little, in fact, that bothers you these days

when you turn first to the obituaries, second to the stock market,

then, after a long pause, to the book review, you are becoming

a good citizen, you do your morning exercises, count

your accumulated small blessings, thank the Lord

that there’s a trolley just outside your door your girlfriend

can take back home to her own bed and here you are

it is morning you are alone every little heartbeat

is yours to cherish the future is on fire with nothing

but its own kindling and whatever is burning in its flames

it isn’t you and now you will take a shower and this is it.