Monday, March 12, 2012

The Morning Reading: "Nearly everyone we loved was alive"


Shopping
by Faith Shearin

My husband and I stood together in the new mall
which was clean and white and full of possibility.
We were poor so we liked to walk through the stores
since this was like walking through our dreams.
In one we admired coffee makers, blue pottery
bowls, toaster ovens as big as televisions. In another,

we eased into a leather couch and imagined
cocktails in a room overlooking the sea. When we
sniffed scented candles we saw our future faces,
softly lit, over a dinner of pasta and wine. When
we touched thick bathrobes we saw midnight

swims and bathtubs so vast they might be
mistaken for lakes. My husband's glasses hurt
his face and his shoes were full of holes.
There was a space in our living room where
a couch should have been. We longed for

fancy shower curtains, flannel sheets,
shiny silverware, expensive winter coats.
Sometimes, at night, we sat up and made lists.
We pressed our heads together and wrote
our wants all over torn notebook pages.
Nearly everyone we loved was alive and we

were in love but we liked wanting. Nothing
was ever as nice when we brought it home.
The objects in stores looked best in stores.
The stores were possible futures and, young
and poor, we went shopping. It was nice
then: we didn't know we already had everything.

*


This poem is from her book The Owl Question.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lovely. The poem and the photo.

the other L

Carla said...

Thanks for this great resource.

Rebel Girl said...

Thanks for reading!

Grant Hier said...

Wonderful. Thanks for sharing such wealth!

Rebel Girl said...

Thanks Grant.

ladyludwig said...

Beautiful, all. You and A, the words...

Lou said...

I have a picture in my mind of A303, a reading, the two of you behind the counter, listening, and the moment when you leaned back into A's arms.

Suellen Cox said...

lisa, I enjoy following your blog....and sincere thanks for the links provided....

Rebel Girl said...

Thanks everyone, for reading and commenting.

 
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