POEM
Tenderness and Rot
Kay RyanTenderness and rot
share a border.
And rot is an
aggressive neighbor
whose iridescence
keeps creeping over.
No lessons
can be drawn
from this however.
One is not
two countries.
One is not meat
corrupting.
It is important
to stay sweet
and loving.
Source: Poetry (January 2002).
This poem originally appeared in the January 2002 issue of Poetry.
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Born in California in 1945, Kay Ryan is the author of several books of poetry, including . . . MORE »
