Saturday, July 23, 2005

I Have a Beehive Inside My Heart

It's the last day of Centrum. It has all gone by so fast!
Yesterday's lecture by Kim Addonizio was a hoot. Because most of the students were at the participant open mic until quite late, and her lecture was at 8:30 the next morning, she told everybody she would be serving Bloody Marys; and sure enough, there was all the fixings for Bloody Marys, as well as mimosas (orange juice, champagne), lined up on the stage at the front of the lecture hall. And EVERYBODY fixed themselves a little drinky before Kim started speaking. A great lecture about success, and failure, and the life of a writer, and a little about her mother (who was a four-time US Open Tennis champion, but still on some level felt a failure).

For my last class, one of the things the students will be doing is reciting the poem they chose to memorize. As I also usually do the exercises I give (it's only fair), I will be reading a little poem that I memorized as well. It's from Antonio Machado:

"Last Night, As I Was Sleeping"

Last night, as I was sleeping,
I dreamt — marvelous error!
that I had a beehive
here inside my heart.
And the golden bees
were making white combs
and sweet honey
from my old failures.


It's a lovely poem. I think it captures the essential metaphor-making ability of poetry. Those "marvelous errors" that we make when we apprehend the world in disordered and accidental and magical ways.

8 comments:

Lizzie said...

That's a nice poem!

Radish King said...

I'm jealous of this beehive in my heart and I think Machado stole it from me even though I haven't written in yet.

early hours of sky said...

no he stole it from me

and Peter I adore the poem.
Tell Kim, Minnesota Teresa says hello. I hope you having fun.

LKD said...

My god, I love that poem. I'm going to bed with a smile on my face....and a beehive in my heart.
Thank you ever so much for posting it, Peter. I read 2 really good things today and this was one of them. The other was this, found on Ana Bozecivic's blog (I just know I misspelled her last name): "There is no death."

My dreams will buzz tonight. Tonight, I will dream I have a honey-combed heart.

iamnasra said...

a beehive in my heart.
I would never think of such expression...loved the writing

Anonymous said...

When I got home this book of poetry was waiting for me - Blind Huber by Nick Flynn. "Flynn invites us to consider the intricate geometry of the beehive. Our guide to this new world is Blind Huber, loosely based on the eponymous eighteenth-century beekeeper whose fifty-year obsession uncovered most of what we know today about the hive."

Anonymous said...

"anonymous said" is Larry Eickstaedt

Peter said...

HI Larry: How serendipitous! I'll have to check out this Nick Flynn book.