A.E. Stallings, pictured, is a poet. She has a new book out (called Like, not necessarily the Facebook kind). I read a brief little review of Like in The New York Times Book Review, in an article devoted to "The Best Poetry of 2018." The review quoted the last verses of "Stain," one of the poems in Stallings' new book. You can read the whole poem, without having to buy the book, by using the "LOOK INSIDE" feature on Amazon. Here is the ending:
Stain
...
Inalienable
as DNA,
Self-evident
As fingerprints,
It will not out
Although you spray
And presoak in the sink
And rinse:
What they suspect
The stain will know,
The stain records
What you forget.
If you wear it,
It will show;
If you wash it,
It will set.
You would probably need to have spent some time in theological seminary to understand why this poem might be appropriate on the day before Christmas. Suffice it to say, here, that this poem resonates with me. As the Quakers would say, it "speaks to my condition."
Because it does ... I am waiting for tomorrow
With great joy!
Image Credit:
https://www.macfound.org/fellows/19/
I remember A.E. Stallings now! She is in the Gioia/ Kennedy anthology (she writes sonnets). yes, she is very good, like Kay Ryan (soulful, precise neo-formalists). Thanks for this wonderful poem, commentary, and suggestion. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY! You are only 75! When you are 80, you may wish to post a poem of your own, or sing us a song, why don't you? :-) —K
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