First, I would have her be beautiful, and walking carefully up on my poetry at the loneliest moment of an afternoon, her hair still damp at the neck from washing it. She should be wearing a raincoat, an old one, dirty from not having money enough for the cleaners. She will take out her glasses, and there in the bookstore, she will thumb over my poems, then put the book back up on its shelf. She will say to herself, “For that kind of money, I can get my raincoat cleaned.” And she will.
You can find this poem in Ted Kooser’s — Sure Signs: New and Selected Poems
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First of all, Shakespeare and Company. This one looks like the Paris one. Mine was the one on the Upper West Side. Now shuttered. What I adore about this poem is what I adore about Ted Kooser's work.. deceptively simple, yet full of something that is lacking... simple wonder and language that is minimalist and illuminating. Also, the idea of there reader meeting us half-way and then not actually buying our books is somehow... delightful.
This made me laugh and hurt my heart a little at the same time. Perfect!