"Ooo Baby Baby"
Click the arrow on the audio player to hear T.R. Hummer read this poem. You can also download the recording or subscribe to Slate's Poetry Podcast on iTunes.
Across a darkness that might be water, cheap paper lanterns burn,
......and their faint luminescence is a distraction from the thought
That if there is no water there, sweetheart, we are screwed—unresolved
......darkness being just that problematic. But, no, it must be water,
Must be that lake just outside of town, because, listen, there is music playing,
......and so there must be crepe paper streamers and a bowl of dismal punch,
Bags of potato chips—God, we hope so—and, in the unsustainable light
......of the pavilion, couples dancing. We might still have that kind of hope
After we die. We might find ourselves in our bodiless bafflement, hanging
......above the expanse of nonbeing, thinking water, thinking dancers—
And Smokey Robinson surrounds us with his voice, another miracle: the old
......prom dream, I might get lucky, just one more angel among the tiny lights.
.
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T.R. Hummer is author of 10 books of poetry. His 11th, Skandalon, is forthcoming from LSU Press.
For Slate's poetry submission guidelines, click spacerhereyeshyperlinkPoetry SubmissionsSlate reads new poems from Oct. 1 to April 30. Manuscripts sent between May 1 and Sept. 30 will not be considered.To submit poems: Send, as a single attached document, up to three poems of no more than 50 lines each to editors@slatepoems.com. Use the poet's name for the subject line of the e-mail and for the title of the attachment. We prefer Word documents (.doc or .docx) to PDFs.Please include a brief, professional cover letter, including publication history, in the body of your email. Please limit submissions to one per poet per annual reading period. Simultaneous submissions are OK. Slate no longer accepts poetry submissions by mail. The email address editors@slatepoems.com is for poetry submissions only (or to notify editors of acceptance elsewhere of a poem under consideration at Slate). Other inquiries, etc., will not be addressed.10000false220061444537PMWednesdayJanJanuary161/4/2006 9:45:37 PM63271989937000000020061444537PMWednesdayJanJanuary161/4/2006 9:45:37 PM632719899370000000.Click here to visit Robert Pinsky's Favorite Poem Project site.Click here for an archive of discussions about poems with Robert Pinsky in "the Fray," Slate's reader forum.