Thursday, March 17, 2011

lenten journal: allergic reaction

“Works of art are not born in flashes of the imagination, but in daily fidelity.”
-- Albert Camus (quoted in Stephen Dunn’s Walking Light)

The beginning of pollen season is killing me here. I found the above quote as I was reading Dunn's book and waiting until it was time to take my next Benadryl.
allergic reaction
allergies are anathema to thought
there is no room for rumination
in my mucus-muddled membranes
eyelids dropping like garage doors
nose clogged like a rush hour street
all of my ideas are weary immigrants
unsure of who can be trusted
to lead them to free expression
all I can tell them is show up again
tomorrow and the day after that
come back everyday until your
faithfulness acts as antihistamine
come back the morning after rain
or the evening of the first frost
the afternoon we plant vegetables
and the day that nothing happens
soon we will know each other well
enough to create between sneezes
Peace,
Milton

2 comments:

Maureen said...

Love the poem. I feel your...stuffiness.

Can't resist telling you that the generic ZyrtecD has given me my life back. Inside, outside, whatever. And I'm not nuts-sleepy or nuts-hyper from Benedryl...

You didn't ask, but like a good neighbor, I have to tell you.

don't eat alone said...

Thanks. I'm always glad for any help.

Peace,
Milton