WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.270 align:middle line:84% Thank you, Alison Deming, for that lovely introduction. 00:00:03.270 --> 00:00:09.600 align:middle line:84% I'm here largely on the sufferings and generosity 00:00:09.600 --> 00:00:13.350 align:middle line:84% of the Poetry Center run by Alison Deming. 00:00:13.350 --> 00:00:16.980 align:middle line:84% And, so, I'll start out with a few poems 00:00:16.980 --> 00:00:21.840 align:middle line:84% and then read from several of the other books. 00:00:21.840 --> 00:00:26.640 align:middle line:90% 00:00:26.640 --> 00:00:29.160 align:middle line:90% Where is it? 00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:31.800 align:middle line:84% This is a poem called "It's Good We Only 00:00:31.800 --> 00:00:35.520 align:middle line:90% See Each Other Once a Week." 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:38.370 align:middle line:90% It's sort of a love poem. 00:00:38.370 --> 00:00:39.600 align:middle line:90% Written a long time ago. 00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:43.250 align:middle line:90% 00:00:43.250 --> 00:00:46.680 align:middle line:84% "It's good we only see each other once a week. 00:00:46.680 --> 00:00:50.390 align:middle line:84% A young man about to move in with his fiancee 00:00:50.390 --> 00:00:54.110 align:middle line:84% died of a sudden heart attack at 26. 00:00:54.110 --> 00:00:57.080 align:middle line:84% One hears these stories all the time. 00:00:57.080 --> 00:01:00.920 align:middle line:84% The heart is trained to handle deprivation, not 00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:03.920 align:middle line:90% unforeseen happiness. 00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:08.120 align:middle line:84% Just as when you throw your arms around me I start to overflow. 00:01:08.120 --> 00:01:11.840 align:middle line:84% But then I think, of course, where was she before? 00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:15.410 align:middle line:84% I deserve it and a lot more besides. 00:01:15.410 --> 00:01:17.780 align:middle line:84% Your love gets soaked up quickly, 00:01:17.780 --> 00:01:22.100 align:middle line:84% and I pull back, brooding over something I never had. 00:01:22.100 --> 00:01:24.050 align:middle line:90% But don't stop on that account. 00:01:24.050 --> 00:01:26.510 align:middle line:90% Keep going. 00:01:26.510 --> 00:01:29.780 align:middle line:84% I was brought up to make the most of accidental brushes 00:01:29.780 --> 00:01:31.440 align:middle line:90% with kindness. 00:01:31.440 --> 00:01:34.310 align:middle line:84% My pleasures were collected almost unawares 00:01:34.310 --> 00:01:36.620 align:middle line:90% from stationary models. 00:01:36.620 --> 00:01:39.980 align:middle line:84% Like the girl who sat in front of me in 10th grade, who let 00:01:39.980 --> 00:01:45.350 align:middle line:84% me stroke and braid her golden hair and never acknowledged it. 00:01:45.350 --> 00:01:49.970 align:middle line:84% I wouldn't know what to do with frontal love, would I? 00:01:49.970 --> 00:01:52.340 align:middle line:84% One snowy winter night in Montreal 00:01:52.340 --> 00:01:54.950 align:middle line:84% I felt so great I danced to flamenco 00:01:54.950 --> 00:01:59.480 align:middle line:84% and insisted that everyone call me Fernando. 00:01:59.480 --> 00:02:02.360 align:middle line:90% But then I was by myself. 00:02:02.360 --> 00:02:05.450 align:middle line:84% And last night, if there are many 00:02:05.450 --> 00:02:08.330 align:middle line:84% more nights like last night with you. 00:02:08.330 --> 00:02:10.910 align:middle line:84% When I think of all my nights of total happiness 00:02:10.910 --> 00:02:15.500 align:middle line:84% I get the panicky sense that the balance has already tipped, 00:02:15.500 --> 00:02:19.130 align:middle line:84% and I will never again feel free to pass myself off 00:02:19.130 --> 00:02:21.380 align:middle line:90% as a have not. 00:02:21.380 --> 00:02:24.590 align:middle line:84% Maybe it's good we only see each other once a week. 00:02:24.590 --> 00:02:27.970 align:middle line:84% But don't stop on that account, keep going." 00:02:27.970 --> 00:02:30.000 align:middle line:90%