a poem for such a day as this
— is a column where I share my favourite poems and their creators, some of whom might be familiar and some not.
Whatever the case, I hope they elicit a smile, a grin, a tear, a smirk … or, in Kafka’s words — be an axe for the frozen sea within us.
As always — it would be great to hear your thoughts.
A poem for such a day as today is:
Country Fair
by Charles Simic
If you didn’t see the six-legged dog,
It doesn’t matter.
We did, and he mostly lay in the corner.
As for the extra legs,
One got used to them quickly
And thought of other things.
Like, what a cold, dark night
To be out at the fair.
Then the keeper threw a stick
And the dog went after it
On four legs, the other two flapping behind,
Which made one girl shriek with laughter.
She was drunk and so was the man
Who kept kissing her neck.
The dog got the stick and looked back at us.
And that was the whole show.
Charles Simic, born in 1938 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia and endured a traumatic childhood during WWII.
He immigrated to the United States in 1954 and settled in Chicago until 1958.
After serving in the U.S. Army, he earned his bachelor’s degree from New York University in 1966.
Simic, a prolific poet and translator, published over sixty books, including award-winning collections like The World Doesn’t End and My Noiseless Entourage.
Known for his surreal imagery and accessible style, he was appointed the fifteenth poet laureate consultant in poetry in 2007.
Simic received numerous accolades, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1990, the Frost Medal in 2011, and the Wallace Stevens Award in 2007.
He died on January 9, 2023, in Dover, New Hampshire, leaving behind a legacy of profound poetry and literary contribution.
Thank you for reading.
