In the course of an ordinary day
plain as a pine board, feelings
flash through me like birds
crossing the window and gone.
Hope stirs and quiets. Anger
flashes lightning from a clear
sky. Sad is a fish wandering
through, body shimmying.
Lust sticks up its furry head.
Regret sighs and turns round
and round before it lies down.
Love comes in warm waves.
Emotions enter, leave me as if
they came from their own cave
where they live while I’m too
busy to pay attention.
Marge Piercy has published 19 books of poetry, the latest being “Made in Detroit” from Knopf. She has published 17 novels, a memoir and four nonfiction books, including “Pesach for the Rest of Us.”
