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“Be aware of the small things in the world, not necessarily the monumental things. The small things add up to a monumental reality.”
—Yusef Komunyakaa, American poet
I tell you, the life of a skeptic is hard.
No softening of edges,
no gossamer wings to flap away the buzzing in my ears.
Stars taunt, tides ebb
the physical world insists on recognition,
but I am no physicist, no mathematician,
cannot reliably compute the way.
Nevertheless, small things
have made themselves known,
the blink of an eye,
your cold night feet pressing up against me,
the way you take my hand when we cross a busy street.
From Paradise Reexamined (Kelsay Books, 2023).
Used here with permission.
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Anita S. Pulier is a retired attorney who, many years ago, traded legal writing for poetry. She and her husband, Myron, pursue a bi-coastal life between New York City and Los Angeles, where they are daily hikers in the NYC parks and the Santa Monica mountains. Anita has been very involved in the Southern California poetry community and, recently, even Myron (a retired psychiatrist) has taken up poetry! Anita’s poems have appeared in numerous print and online journals and her work is included in nine print anthologies. The author of multiple collections, her most recent is Paradise Reexamined. Learn more about Anita at http://psymeet.com/anitaspulier/main/index.php.
    
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paradea:
Lovely!!
Posted 03/20/2023 06:58 PM
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Lori Levy:
Great beginning and ending (and middle!). Congratulations on your book!
Posted 03/19/2023 11:44 PM
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ghctenmile@earthlink.net:
Thanks so much for this poem--what an opening line!
Congratulations.
Posted 03/19/2023 04:39 PM
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KevinArnold:
Ah, they're all love poems.
Posted 03/19/2023 12:46 PM
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Jo:
Congratulations on your new book.
I enjoyed this poem very much.
It reminds me of a favorite haiku.
First violets
Its all about
Staying small
Haiku by Peggy Willis Lyles
Posted 03/19/2023 12:25 PM
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KinVT:
Very nice. Poetry success. Making the reader (me) feel the stronger emotion of the beginning of the poem & then flipping that in the blink of an eye to the softer human emotions of the latter lines. Well done! & Congratulations on your upcoming book launch!
Posted 03/19/2023 10:56 AM
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cork:
I love those small things and will stay alert to them as my life continues like the sound of espresso brewing.
Posted 03/19/2023 10:54 AM
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michael escoubas:
Ah Yes! How we appreciate such things, especially in these our later years. Thank you, Anita.
Posted 03/19/2023 09:02 AM
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