Saturday, April 30, 2011

Thank You Dorothy Parker

A commenter on my last post, someone who knows me well, left links for three poems. I want to share one that still has me chuckling. Life does go round and round, and there are ups and downs. Laughter along the way is a good thing ~

Inscription for the Ceiling of a Bedroom
by Dorothy Parker

Daily dawns another day;
I must up, to make my way.
Though I dress and drink and eat,
Move my fingers and my feet,
Learn a little, here and there,
Weep and laugh and sweat and swear,
Hear a song, or watch a stage,
Leave some words upon a page,
Claim a foe, or hail a friend—
Bed awaits me at the end.

Though I go in pride and strength,
I'll come back to bed at length.
Though I walk in blinded woe,
Back to bed I'm bound to go.
High my heart, or bowed my head,
All my days but lead to bed.
Up, and out, and on; and then
Ever back to bed again,
Summer, Winter, Spring, and Fall—
I'm a fool to rise at all!

(from The Poetry & Short Stories of Dorothy Parker, 1994, The Modern Library.)

4 comments:

mermaid said...

Sharon, this did make me laugh. I think I'd like to stay in bed for a few days, too:) Or maybe not...

I know I've said this before, but thank you so much for the poem. Mary Oliver has such a carefree yet magical way of describing poetry and the art of writing practice.

Laura said...

I feel the same way about laundry:-)

teri said...

Well in honor of this post I stayed in bed until 10:30! today. But I am glad I finally did get up - the garden is lovely. Ditto to Laura's laundry statement.

Cynthia said...

I do enjoy DP. This is one I hadn't read before. Made me smile.