Poem of the day-Matthew Rohrer

Here's another NPF poem of the day, from Matthew Rohrer.He teaches writing at NYU and was a finalist for the Griffin in 2005. The judges said his poems "“present us the sideways view of the world of a young American not able to assume the mantle of hero.” Maybe this is why I like this poem so much.

What I like: as usual, vivid imagery that sets my cortex ping-ponging. And the humor.

You can hear him read the poem if you follow the link to the website.

The Amaranth

By Matthew Rohrer

is an imaginary flower that never fades.

The amaranth is blue with black petals,

it’s yellow with red petals,

it’s enormous and grows into the shape

of a girl’s house,

the seeds nestle high in the closet

where she hid a boy.

The boy and his bike flee

the girl’s parents from the tip

of the leaves, green summer light

behind the veins.

The amaranth is an imaginary flower

in the shape of a girl’s house

dispensing gin and tonics

from its thorns, a succulent.

This makes the boy’s bike steer

off-course all summer, following

the girl in her marvelous car,

the drunken bike.

 

He was a small part of summer,

he was summer’s tongue.