The Twelfth Day of Christmas: "The Briefcase"
"The Briefcase" appeared in Madoc, the first book Irish poet Paul Muldoon published following his move to the United States in 1987. The poem is dedicated to fellow poet and Irishman, Seamus Heaney, 12 years Muldoon's senior and recipient of the 1995 Nobel prize in literature.
The Briefcase
for Seamus Heaney
I held the briefcase at arm's length from me;
the oxblood or liver
eelskin with which it was covered
had suddenly grown supple.
I¹d been waiting in line for the cross-town
bus when an almighty cloudburst
left the sidewalk a raging torrent.
And though it contained only the first
inkling of this poem, I knew I daren't
set the briefcase down
to slap my pockets for an obol -
for fear it might slink into a culvert
and strike out along the East River
for the sea. By which I mean the 'open' sea.
__________
Paul Muldoon is currently the Howard G. B. Clark '21 Professor at Princeton University and Chair of the University Center for the Creative and Performing Arts.
Labels: Arts, Special occasion
posted by Karen Nelson @ 5:44 PM
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