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Laure-Anne Bosselaar: When the Bed is Made
I love that nameless gesture, that large
& broad sweep: a final, flat-palmed smoothing
of the covers—an almost instinctive stroke
of the bed before leaving the room. How
I have done it, as you have, over & over.
How mothers, lovers, nurses & hotel maids,
backs aching, have bent over beds for that last
swift tidying. Blanketed the night cries, grabs,
terrors & sweats. Hidden, the love-stained
sheets, or the much too impeccable ones.
Hushed the whispers, confidences, & all
the given, taken, or turned-away from kisses.
And so we leave the room, the made bed.
Night tucked beneath its smooth surface.
Copyright 2023 Laure-Anne Bosselaar
Laure-Anne Bosselaar is a Belgian-American poet, translator, professor, and former poet laureate of Santa Barbara, California. She is the author of four collections of poetry, most recently, These Many Rooms (Four Way Books, 2019).
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Lovely. And how delicately it gives meaning to the mundane. How great to notice the beauty in these small offices.
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Thank you, Greg, very kind of you.
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Thank you for this one, this morning. Simple and gorgeous.
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A simply lovely poem❤️
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…a final, flat-palmed smoothing… I feel your poem in the palm of my hand and in my heart, thank you Laure-Anne
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“And now we leave the room” – with the beautiful poem tucked in my thoughts. Love this, thanks for sharing it.
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Ah that last smoothing—perhaps it will return when bed returns to nights.
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Thank you, Barbara!
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Je lis toujours your poems avec grand plaisir.Felicitations pour ton succes.
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Gorgeous poem in its everyday simplicity and human complexity, and it’s got that seemingly effortless flow from the personal to the universal. Such a gift…
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A study in the contemporary sonnet, this lovely piece, in its compression, its sophisticated line breaks, its powerful yet not over-the-top coda. Wow–first poem I read today, and what a good way to start the day.
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Thank you, Gerald — so generous of you!
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Lovely poem. I’m touched by how effortlessly it reaches out to include all of us who sleep & wake-up in beds.
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Thank you, friend!
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I am in awe by how you elevate domesticity to a wider, deeper caritas. Beautifully done, Laure-Anne. This one will live in my head for a while.
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So kind of you, Carlene — thank you!
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I love poems that make commonplace actions or objects sacred and new!
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A lovely piece, neat as a well-made bed.
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Well-said, Robbi!
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Always a joy to read a Laure-Anne Bosselaar poem! The line breaks here are perfection.
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Yes, her poems are perfect; yet they seem effortless
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Live this Laure-Anne. Thank you for taking me there.
Wendy
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Such a beautiful poem! Thank you for sharing it with us, Michael.
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You’re welcome, Susie!
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So perfect—finishes up like the beautifully written and played piece of chamber music it is. A lovely Chopin Nocturne.
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Exactly. Thanks, Sean!
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Thank you, Sean. Very much.
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