Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, DRIED TO..., by ELLEN J. GREENFIELD


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

DRIED TO..., by                    
First Line: Dried to...The package said
Subject(s): Packages


Dried To . . . the package said,
All I could read at least, except
The words Product of China and Weight 5 Oz.,
In the bag between the knees
of the Chinese woman on the Brooklyn-bound Q.
The rest of the word
folded in on its plastic self --
Red letters on clear cellophane,
Tall wrinkled ochre stalks clustered inside.
Dried what? I bend my head to see --
Dried tofu, dried toenails, dried tongues:
Things that are so dried must be forgiven
For not seeming much like themselves.
Dried tomatoes, dried tortoises, dried tomalley . . .
But I want to know -- dried tortellini, dried tonsils . . .
I must know -- dried tokay lizard, dried toadstools . . .
The train pulls into my stop, dried toreadors . . .
And I have to get off, dried toast, dried torpedoes . . .
Oh please, I pray, don't let me die without knowing!



Copyright Ellen J. Greenfield.







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