Vox Populi
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Naomi Shihab Nye: Alive
Dear Abby, said someone from Oregon,
I am having trouble with my boyfriend’s attachment
to an ancient gallon of milk still full
in his refrigerator. I told him it’s me or the milk,
is this unreasonable? Dear Carolyn,
my brother won’t speak to me
because fifty years ago I whispered
a monkey would kidnap him in the night
to take him back to his true family
but he should have known it was a joke
when it didn’t happen, don’t you think?
Dear Board of Education, no one will ever
remember a test. Repeat. Stories,
poems, projects, experiments,
mischief, yes, but never a test.
Dear Dog Behind the Fence, you really need
to calm down now. You have been barking every time
I walk to the compost for two years
and I have not robbed your house. Relax.
When I asked the man on the other side
if you bother him too, he smiled and said no,
he makes me feel less alone. Should I be more
worried about the dog or the man?
~~~~
Naomi Shihab Nye (born 1952) is an Arab American poet, editor, songwriter, and novelist. Born to a Palestinian father and an American mother, she began composing her first poetry at the age of six. Nye received the 2013 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature in honor of her entire body of work as a writer, and in 2019 the Poetry Foundation designated her the Young People’s Poet Laureate for the 2019–21 term.
Copyright 2011 Naomi Shihab Nye. From Transfer (BOA 2011.)
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Neither. Stop worrying.
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🥛🐒 🎨🎼 🐕 🕉️🤍
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❤️❤️❤️❤️Sent from my iPhone
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Love it and remembering wonderful moments writing poetry with Naomi at Tassajara.
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I’ve heard Naomi say how much she enjoys going to Tassajara!
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What a tender, beautiful, funny, delightful poem.
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Isn’t it?
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Repeat! More! Thank you.
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Yes, I love Naomi’s poems.
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Wonder words, Dear poet.
Perhaps the dog will drink the milk, while the Board of Education tests itself, the monkey house sends an invite to it’s long lost kin, and the kindly narrator invites the next door neighbor to share cookies and chamomile tea.
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Dear Naomi of the beautiful soul,
I can’t believe you have ever, aiming at a nail, hit your thumb instead.
Thank you.
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