Singing Along

Recognition begets sound,some closed-mouthed noise

mmmm, as if in agreement.

A person we re-encounter,

and we speak their name

to them or those around us,

I know her, that’s so-and-so,

An object we know and see

again, we name it, Do you

know what this is, we ask

others, not because we want

to know but because we

do know already, and must

repeat the truth to make it

seem useful. Yesterday,

in the movie theater, a man

sang along to the Cole Porter

song filling one scene:

And that’s why birds do it.

bees do it, even educated

fleas do it. He greeted

the song there in the dark,

singing quietly from behind

all our heads, s’s reaching

toward the screen, the music

a rope he was pulling in, with

some big memory on the other

end rolling out to be looked at.

{Most frequently, Hannah’s poetry is inspired by the paintings, drawings, sculptures, architecture, and photography of others. You can find more of her poems Here.}

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