Poetry Thursday - I Will Keep Broken Things by Alice Walker

I Will Keep Broken Things

I will keep
Broken
Things:
The big clay
Pot
With raised
Iguanas
Chasing
Their
Tails;
Two
Of their
Wise

Heads
Sheared
Off;

I will keep
Broken
things:
The old
Slave
Market
Basket
Brought
To my
Door

By Mississippi
A jagged
Hole
Gouged
In its sturdy
Dark
Oak
Side.

I will keep
Broken
things:
The memory
Of
Those
Long
Delicious
Night
Swims
With
You;

I will keep
Broken
things:
In my house
There
Remains
An

Honored
Shelf
On which
I will
Keep
Broken
Things.

Their beauty
Is
They
Need
Not
Ever
Be
'fixed.'

I will keep
Your
Wild
Free
Laughter
Though
It is now
Missing
Its
Reassuring
And
Graceful
Hinge.

I will keep
Broken
Things:

Thank you
So much!

I will keep
Broken
Things.

I will keep
You:

Pilgrim
Of
Sorrow.

I will keep
Myself.

Alice Walker (via poemhunter)

After seeing the broken mirror on the street, I had to find a "broken" poem - and am doubly glad to find this one: for itself, and for the encounter with other poems that Alice Walker (b.1944) has written. (To an editor, it's a treat to find a poem that mentions the importance of commas!)

"Walker has been an activist all of her adult life, and believes that learning to extend the range of our compassion is activity and work available to all," says the official website. She is "an internationally celebrated author, poet and activist whose books include seven novels, four collections of short stories, four children’s books, and volumes of essays and poetry. She’s best known for The Color Purple, the 1983 novel for which she won the Pulitzer Prize."

She writes regularly on her blog site at alicewalkersgarden.com.