Poem: The Almanac of Last Things

The Almanac of Last Things
by Lin­da Pastan

From the almanac of last things
I choose the spi­der lily
for the grace of its brief
blos­som, though I myself
fear brevity,

but I choose The Song of Songs
because the flesh
of those pomegranates
has survived
all the frost of dogma.

I choose Jan­u­ary with its chill
lessons of patience and despair–and
August, too sun-struck for lessons.
I choose a thim­ble­ful of red wine
to make my heart race,

then anoth­er to help me
sleep. From the almanac
of last things I choose you,
as I have done before.
And I choose evening

because the light clinging
to the window
is at its most reflective
just as it is ready
to go out. 

(From Car­ni­val Evening: New and Select­ed Poems)

Cyn is Rick's wife, Katie's Mom, and Esther & Oliver's Mémé. She's also a professional geek, avid reader, fledgling coder, enthusiastic gamer (TTRPGs), occasional singer, and devoted stitcher.
Posts created 4259

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Posts

Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel.

Back To Top