Just a Tool
I wonder what it is like to have a toolthat feels like it’s a part of my hand.No spirit moves me. It’s just a tool.Tasks are done. The day slips…
A Fox and a Chicken
Don’t forget, there’s alsoa sack of corn and a rowboatin the riddle. There’s a manwhose task it is to row the boat,and rowing, to figure out howto get the chicken…
Hat, Coat, Gloves
Opposite the Comédie Française is the Caféde la Régence; inside is a secludedroom, with an armchair and a table.When I enter, the immovable dust has already got to its feet.…
Lines on an Ex-Friend’s Death
1 If my brain doesn’t know it’s a brainany more than this tarmac I’m driving overto your funeral knowswhat tarmac is,then my mind is maybe likethis heat shimmerreceding as I…
When the Worst Happens
When the worst happens,silence, like an ambulance without siren, arrives. A silence that doesn’t need the rest of the story. It is the story.—Jane HirshfieldJane Hirshfield’s most recent book is…