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Subject to Change
by
Marilyn L. Taylor


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They are so beautiful, and so very young
they seem almost to glitter with perfection,
these creatures that I briefly move among.
 
I never get to stay with them for long,
but even so, I view them with affection:
they are so beautiful, and so very young.
 
Poised or clumsy, placid or high-strung,
they're expert in the art of introspection,
these creatures that I briefly move among—
 
And if their words don't quite trip off the tongue
consistently, with just the right inflection,
they remain beautiful. And very young.
 
Still, I have to tell myself it's wrong
to think of them as anything but fiction,
these creatures that I briefly move among—
 
Because, like me, they're traveling headlong
in that familiar, vertical direction
that coarsens beautiful, blackmails young,
and turns to phantoms those I move among.
  
Originally printed in Poetry magazine. 
© 2002 by Marilyn Taylor. Used with the author’s permission.

 

 


 

Marilyn L. Taylor served as Poet Laureate of Wisconsin from 2009 - 2010. Her award-winning work has appeared in many journals and anthologies, and she is the author of six collections of poems. Marilyn taught for many years at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and, in 2004, was appointed to a two-year term as Poet Laureate of Milwaukee. She was a columnist for The Writer magazine for five years, and currently serves on the board of directors for the Council for Wisconsin Writers and the Advisory Council for the MFA Program at Western State Colorado University, Gunnison, CO.  Marilyn now lives in Madison, Wisconsin, where she continues to facilitate workshops locally, statewide, and beyond. Learn more about her at www.mlt-poet.com.   

 

 


Post New Comment:
msruff@juno.com:
Beautiful piece.
Posted 09/17/2014 01:33 PM
Jo:
Well done--as always.
Posted 09/17/2014 10:56 AM
Cindy:
lovely
Posted 09/17/2014 08:48 AM
Charly:
Excellent!
Posted 09/17/2014 08:23 AM
Gary Busha:
Yes.
Posted 09/17/2014 07:37 AM
mimi:
oh yes, excellent and true!
Posted 09/17/2014 07:20 AM
jeanie:
yay marilyn! wonderful poem!
Posted 09/17/2014 06:51 AM
phebe.davidson@gmail.com:
Brava!
Posted 09/17/2014 05:50 AM


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