Poems

These two short poems are from the Library of Congress Poetry 180 program. A program which offers a poem a day for the 180 days of the U.S. school year. You can sign up to receive the daily poems by email.

This first poem uses the many meanings of the word "line" to talk about love.

Lines

Martha Collins

Draw a line. Write a line. There.
Stay in line, hold the line, a glance
between the lines is fine but don't
turn corners, cross, cut in, go over
or out, between two points of no
return's a line of flight, between
two points of view's a line of vision.
But a line of thought is rarely
straight, an open line's no party
line, however fine your point.
A line of fire communicates, but drop
your weapons and drop your line,
consider the shortest distance from x
to y, let x be me, let y be you.

This second poem expresses a belief in the impossible.

Foundations 

Leopold Staff

I built on the sand
And it tumbled down,
I built on a rock
And it tumbled down.
Now when I build, I shall begin
With the smoke from the chimney.