Poem-A-Day: John Koethe, The Bean House

	July 20, 2012 Today's poem is copyright © 2012 by John Koethe Used with permission of the author. More from this author Other Koethe Poems A Perfume Chester Creation Myths Fear of the Future Hackett Avenue You can unsubscribe from our Poem-A-Day emails at at anytime—either completely, or until next April. Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane Suite 901 New York, NY 10038 212-274-0343 academy@poets.org		The Bean House by John Koethe            . . . humming in the summer haze. Diane christened it the Bean House, Since everything in it came straight from an L.L. Bean Home catalog. It looks out upon two Meadows separated by a stand of trees, and at night, When the heat begins to dissipate and the stars Become visible in the uncontaminated sky, I like to sit here on the deck, listening to the music Wafting from the inside through the sliding patio doors, Listening to the music in my head. It's what I do: The days go by, the days remain the same, dwindling Down to a precious few as I try to write my name In the book of passing days, the book of water. Some Days I go fishing, usually unsuccessfully, casting Gently across a small stream that flows along beneath Some overhanging trees or through a field of cows. Call it late bucolic: this morning I awoke to rain And a late spring chill, with water dripping from the Eaves, the apple trees, the pergola down the hill. No fishing today, as I await the summation Of my interrupted eclogue, waiting on the rain And rhythms of the world for the music to resume, As indeed it does: all things end eventually, No matter how permanent they seem, no matter how Desperately you want them to remain. And now the sun Comes out once more, and life becomes sweet again, Sweet and familiar, on the verge of summer. Share Digg StumbleUpon Facebook E-mail to Friend