Academy of American Poets
View Cart | Log In 
Subscribe | More Info 
Find a Poet or Poem
Advanced Search >
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Toi Derricotte
Toi Derricotte
The author of several books of poetry, Toi Derricotte is also the co-founder of Cave Canem, a workshop retreat for black poets...
More >
Want more poems?
Subscribe to our
Poem-A-Day emails.
FURTHER READING
Related Poems
Cherry Blossom Storm
by Henri Cole
The Family Photograph
by Vona Groarke
The Métier of Blossoming
by Denise Levertov
Sponsor a Poet Page | Add to Notebook | Email to Friend | Print

Cherry blossoms

 
by Toi Derricotte

I went down to
mingle my breath
with the breath
of the cherry blossoms.

There were photographers:
Mothers arranging their
children against
gnarled old trees;
a couple, hugging,
asks a passerby
to snap them
like that,
so that their love
will always be caught
between two friendships:
ours & the friendship
of the cherry trees.

Oh Cherry,
why can't my poems
be as beautiful?


A young woman in a fur-trimmed
coat sets a card table
with linens, candles,
a picnic basket & wine.
A father tips
a boy's wheelchair back
so he can gaze
up at a branched
heaven.
                     All around us
the blossoms
flurry down
whispering,

        Be patient
you have an ancient beauty.

                                            Be patient,
                                  you have an ancient beauty.







From The Undertaker's Daughter, by Toi Derricotte, © 2011. All rights are controlled by the University of Pittsburgh Press. Used with permission.
Larger TypeLarger Type | Home | Help | Contact Us | Privacy Policy Copyright © 1997 - 2013 by Academy of American Poets.