Tuesday poem #37 : Dennis Cooley : a few meagre words

a few meagre words

of love or thanks

sub stance of things unseen

sound of thoughts unsaid

letters i have filched

from Paul’s garden

i toss feigning

nonchalance into the pot

savour to the beans and carrots

cut and chopped and diced

hoping with a gourmand’s need

            they will add

thickness to the stock

so we give this day

our daily dread

weak with want

& bent spoon

the small lumps

that are my thoughts

these my pilferings

the dumplings i am

hoping for

stirring the firmament

sniffing the pot

Dennis Cooley has edited two anthologies of prairie poetry, written two critical titles and over a dozen books of poetry. A new book of poetry, the stones, was released in September, 2013, and another, abecedarian, in the spring of 2014. He is working on a collection of essays on Robert Kroetsch's poetry.

the Tuesday poem is curated by rob mclennan