POEM

Tea-Strainer

by Joyelle McSweeney

Joyelle McSweeney
Leaf-keep, un-sibyl; if the soul
Has the weight of a swallow, what less
Has the weight of a sip? You equal
This riddle, unposed in your dish
As a hand at rest in a lap. Held to,
You hold back what can't be
Prevented, what's no more palatable
For that: the unfine; formerly, our future.

This poem originally appeared in the July 1999 issue of Poetry.

July 1999 issue of Poetry Magazine

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Joyelle McSweeney was born in Boston and spent most of her childhood in suburban Philadelphia. She . . . MORE »

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