Welcome to OpenLinkNight everyone! As you know OpenLinkNight is your opportunity to link 1 poem of your choice as this is no prompt-day. For those who missed the Mr Linky deadline this Tuesday’s poetics or any poetry prompts that you have missed in the past, this is the opportunity to share your poem. Out of courtesy, please link back to dVerse Poets Pub if you are sharing your poem.
Here are two poems by Margaret Atwood, regarded as Canada’s finest living writers.
[you fit into me]
BY MARGARET ATWOOD
you fit into me
like a hook into an eye
a fish hook
an open eye
February
BY MARGARET ATWOOD
Winter. Time to eat fat
and watch hockey. In the pewter mornings, the cat,
a black fur sausage with yellow
Houdini eyes, jumps up on the bed and tries
to get onto my head. It’s his
way of telling whether or not I’m dead.
If I’m not, he wants to be scratched; if I am
He’ll think of something. He settles
on my chest, breathing his breath
of burped-up meat and musty sofas,
purring like a washboard. Some other tomcat,
not yet a capon, has been spraying our front door,
declaring war. It’s all about sex and territory,
which are what will finish us off
in the long run. Some cat owners around here
should snip a few testicles. If we wise
hominids were sensible, we’d do that too,
or eat our young, like sharks.
But it’s love that does us in. Over and over
again, He shoots, he scores! and famine
crouches in the bedsheets, ambushing the pulsing
eiderdown, and the windchill factor hits
thirty below, and pollution pours
out of our chimneys to keep us warm.
February, month of despair,
with a skewered heart in the centre.
I think dire thoughts, and lust for French fries
with a splash of vinegar.
Cat, enough of your greedy whining
and your small pink bumhole.
Off my face! You’re the life principle,
more or less, so get going
on a little optimism around here.
Get rid of death. Celebrate increase. Make it be spring.
Grace said:
Hi everyone! Happy Thursday! I look forward to reading your poems. It is 1C degree here in Ontario, so let me know what drinks we can offer you at the bar.
Jim said:
Hi Grace. I’m not posting tonight, things at home are a vivid pace. I did want to mention that my Norton antivirus forbid me to come into your blog. I won’t try this one but it was for the Poetics poem comment. You were first one the list.
I would recommend an antivirus check of you blog to check it out. Norton may be too selective, I wouldn’t guarantee not.
You can delete this comment after you read it.
jhovendic@yahoo.com if you wish to reach me.
..
Grace said:
Thanks Jim for your comment I find this strange because I monitor my blog and delete the spam comments.
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
Good evening… I think a little beer would be nice tonight…
Grace said:
Hi Bjorn. Beer would be good. Cheers!
Helen said:
It is relatively mild here today, but cold and snow are on the way back! A brandy for me, please! Cheers to Thursday!
Grace said:
Hi Helen. Here is glass of brandy for you Helen. Cheers!
Mish said:
Hi Grace. The sun is out but so deceiving. Still need to bundle up. I’ll take a hot chai tea. Thanks for hosting. 🙂
Grace said:
Hi Mish. I take comfort in the short sunny afternoon but its going to get really cold tonight. A hot chai tea is good!
rogblog666 said:
hi all
hope you are all having a good day.
will get to read when I can.
sorry about the rant that is my poem this evening.
it is my my mind is at the moment.
rog
rogblog666 said:
better not have a beer in this frame of mind. cheers
Grace said:
Have a good day and night Rog!
rogblog666 said:
👍
msjadeli said:
Hello Grace and All. Happy Thursday! There have been two sunny days so far this week but the temp has been down in the teens (I hear you, Mish!) The pics in my post were taken on one of the sunny days. Would you please pour me something that will warm me up, Grace?
Grace said:
Hello Lisa. Happy Thursday! Hot tea would be good in today’s cold weather.
msjadeli said:
Ah, just right, thank you. Cheers!
Mish said:
Hi Lisa, yes I think our weather may be quite similar. 🙂
Laura Bloomsbury said:
Its temporarily temperate here Grace but a hot chocolate without cream would be welcome
p.s. I love the Atwood poem
” he scores! and famine
crouches in the bedsheets” 🙂
Grace said:
Hi Laura. I love a hot chocolate too (any time). Her poems are amazing.
merrildsmith said:
Hi Everyone. Thanks for hosting, Grace.
I really like Margaret Atwood’s poetry. I heard her read some on the radio a year or two ago.
Today was sunny and not too cold here, but it’s going to be very windy and the temperature will be dropping tomorrow into the teens (F).
Maybe some hot tea and cookies?
Grace said:
Hi Merril, Hot tea and cookies for you. It is also very windy tonight here. Looking forward to sunnier days for sure.
memadtwo said:
Thanks for hosting Grace. (K)
Grace said:
Thanks for joining in!
M Jay Dixit said:
I have Margaret Atwood’s poetry collection, Dearly. She’s really ome of the finest, no doubt!
Grace said:
She is. Love that you have her poetry collection.
Cindy Georgakas said:
goodness I mustn’t complain Grace about the cold here then! love that poem! Any poem, no form right Grace around nature? I do love the no prompt day and if I can figure out how to link, I may…. thanks.. 💞
Grace said:
Hi Cindy. Here in Canada, its very cold at this time. For OLN, this is a free for all poem by the poet’s choice, no form whatsoever is required. Click on the Mr. Linky below the post, and add the specific link of your poem in there. Thanks for your comment.
Cindy Georgakas said:
Oh brrrrr.. yes indeed. Oh that’s up my alley .. I shall see if I can get it out. xo stay warm! ❣️
Rob Kistner said:
Thank you for hosting Grace. I did an edited update of a psychological thriller piece I originally wrote in 2013.
Grace said:
Hi Rob. Thanks for joining in. I will swing by in a bit. Wishing you good day/night.
kittysverses said:
Thank you for hosting, Grace. 🙂
kittysverses said:
I enjoyed the, ” February” poem you shared, thank you. 🙂
Grace said:
Thanks for joining in. Glad you enjoyed her poems.
pvcann said:
Thank you for hosting Grace, and for Atwood’s poetry. A whiskey please.
Grace said:
Hi Paul. Thanks for joining in. Here is the whiskey for you. Happy weekend.
pvcann said:
Thank you Grace – happy weekend to you too.
lillian said:
Sooo late to the pary, Grace! My post explains why 🙂
lillian said:
So late to the party, Grace! Enjoying San Diego too much! 🙂
Grace said:
Enjoy the city Lillian.