Month: April 2008

Padgett’s “Now You See It”

Although irony would have to be the dominant characteristic of Ron Padgett’s poetry in How to Be Perfect, there are a few, subtler poems that I enjoyed almost as much as “Toothbrush.” This would be one of them:

Now You See It

What you don’t see
helps you see what
you do see: the keyhole
sharpens the thrill
in your brain,
even if there is
no one
in the room,
shadows
wafting across
the white sheets
as a song drifts in
the window,
her voice so pure
you can see
the face it rises from,
for what you see
helps you see what
you don’t see.

Perhaps my recent thoughts about what make a “perfect day” made me appreciate this poem more than I might otherwise have done. It seems to me that art is at its best when it makes us more aware of those things that are most important to us. It heightens our experiences, makes them “peak” experiences.

I’ve always enjoyed the beach, enjoyed the beauty, enjoyed the physical exertion, but found that I enjoyed the beach even more when combined with short trips to art galleries, even if the art did not specifically relate to the beach.

I’m not sure why that should be so, but I suspect it has something to do with art helping us to focus on those things that are most important. “The keyhole” frames what we see, eliminating everything but what is important. But art can also suggest what we cannot see, what cannot be seen. The part stands for the whole. The beauty of an object can stand for the beauty of the whole of the creation.

Knock, Knock, Knocking On Heaven’s Door

There’s been a sudden improvement in the weather here in the Pacific Northwest, and luckily Leslie was able to take Wednesday off so we could go up to Port Townsend for the day.

I knew it was going to be a good day when a Varied Thrush flew in front of the car just as we entered Ft Lagler and this Horned Grebe in full breeding colors

Horned Grebe

popped up right in front of me when I first reached the beach.

A little further down the beach we ran into a flock of Brandt

pair of Brandt

who’d been driven our way by a flock of noisy kids on Spring Break.

Followed shortly by a small flock of Sandpipers

Sandpiper

who bedazzled us with their flashing wings and sharp turns.

Unfortunately, the Harlequin ducks seemed determined to stay far off shore,

Harlequin Duck in Distance

and since this is the only place I’ve managed to see them consistently they’re likely to have departed by the next time I get back here.

Oh, life’s little disappointments.

Sometimes one has to compensate by exploring the local art shops, perhaps compromising on a piece of deck art that one can afford:

Moon with Serpent

And by finishing off the day with a late lunch at Fins Coastal Cuisine consisting of Asian Pear Roasted Beet Salad, fried calamari, and SEA SCALLOPS AND WILD MUSHROOM RAVIOLI.

Of course, after last week’s bout with pneumonia, it almost seemed like I was knock, knock, knocking at Heaven’s Door.

The Perfect Toothbrush

While visiting Santa Rosa recently the whole group went to a local bookstore, and, even though I have a Wishlist full of books at Amazon to read, I couldn’t resist browsing through the poetry shelf, knowing full well my addiction would never allow me to leave the store without buying at least one book. Hey, what’s retirement for if not to read everything you’ve ever wanted to read.

I knew when I looked at the cover

Book Cover

that Padgett’s How to Be Perfect must have been written especially for me. Of course, it didn’t hurt that I’d also been reading cummings and had thoroughly enjoyed the humor of his poems, a quality even too many of my favorite poets lack.

This short poem struck something, hopefully my funny bone:

Toothbrush

As the whisk broom
is the child of the ordinary broom,
which is cousin to the janitor’s broom,
I am a toothbrush
when it comes to bristling,
insufficiently angry
or maybe too angry
to keep my bristles intact
since I know the debris
of the world is too great
for me to handle.
If I could save the world
by being crucified
I certainly would.
But who would nail
a toothbrush to a cross?

Sometimes it’s depressing when you see things in their proper perspective, other times it may seen as liberating.

Despite all my aspirations and a lifetime spent trying to improve the world, I doubt I’ve even stopped even a single case of dental decay.