[New-Poetry] Why Bly

[David Graham]

The Scandal


The day the minister ran off with the choir director
The bindlestiffs felt some gaiety in their arms.
Spike-pitchers threw their bundles higher on the load
And the County Assessor drove with a tiny smile.

Actually the minister's wife felt relieved that morning,
Though afraid too. She walked out by the slough,
And admired the beaver's house, partly above
Water, partly beneath.  That seemed right.

The minister felt dizzy as the two of them drove
For hours: country music and the loose ribbon
Mingled in his mind with the *Song of Songs*.
They stopped at a small motel near Bismarck.

For the threshers, the stubble was still dry,
The oat dust itchy, the big belt needed grease,
The loads pulled up to the machine.  This story happens
Over and over, and it's a good story.

--Robert Bly.  *Morning Poems*.  HarperCollins, 1997.


==========================================
David Graham
grahamd at ripon.edu
Home Page:
http://www.ripon.edu/faculty/GrahamD/index.html
Poetry Library:
http://www.ripon.edu/faculty/GrahamD/poetrylib.html
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