Poem-A-Day: Tale of Two Cities by Mark Jarman

Tale of Two Cities by Mark Jarman     Sick as it approaches, sick as it departs.  In fall the hulks of burned out houses stand unrazed.  In winter bearded with fire truck ice they stand unrazed.  The ice cream maker, the piano tuner, the ceramist and tile    engraver,--  The belovèd craftsmen turn up killed at their work places.  And the river, stingy, greedy, shrinks and enlarges.  And bumper stickers protest how people like it here. The hated    city.    And the loved city? Only at a distance can it be loved.  How else do those mean little squares and boulevards sprouting    their haystraw weeds  Become the Champs-Elysées and Princes Street, except in    memory?  Shadowy byways and alleys, wildflower chain linked lots  Where a lover turned and smiled and did more than kiss,  And corners where small hilarities gathered, teasing,  But singing in unison,--these map happiness.    The hated city. The loved city. The same city.         Copyright © 2013 by Mark Jarman. Used with permission of the author.   About This Poem "The place I describe here is a composite of cities I have called home or had to call home. The origin of the poem's title should be obvious. I hope it is just as obvious that it is possible to hate and love the place you are from."    --Mark Jarman Most Recent Book by Jarman Bone Fires (Sarabande Books, 2011)                 August 27, 2013 Mark Jarman is the author of several books of poetry; his most recent collection is Bone Fires (Sarabande Books, 2011). He teaches at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he also lives. Related Poems The Chicago Poem by Jerome Rothenberg He Dreams of Falling by Ruth Ellen Kocher The Barcelona Inside Me by Robin Becker Poem-A-Day Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-A-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. Browse the  Poem-A-Day Archive.     Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.

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