Ed Ochester Presents a Poem by Robin Becker

(re-posted from The Best American Poetry blog.)

Ed Ochester Presents a Poem by Robin Becker

"Robin is one of the most varied of the poets on the Pitt list in her style and subject matter -- and the foremost feminist poet of her generation. If the word 'feminist' scares you, or calls up some cliché like ‘no sense of humor,’ you should become acquainted with her work. And grow up." —Ed Ochester

THE BATH

I like to watch
your breasts float like two birds
drifting downstream; you like a book,
a glass of wine on the lip
of the porcelain tub,
your music. It is your way of dissolving
the day, merging the elements of your body
with this body. The room fills with steam
like mist off a river—
as intimate to imagine you
pleasuring yourself: watery fingers, slow
movement into fantasy.
You call me in and take my hand
in your wet hand. I have to shield my eyes
from the great light
coming off your body.
When you ask me to touch you
kneel by the water like a blind woman
guided into the river by a friend.

from American Poetry Now $27.95 • 408 pp. © 2007 University of Pittsburgh Press

Also by Robin Becker from the Pitt Poetry Series:

All-American Girl $14.00
Giacometti’s Dog $14.00
The Horse Fair $12.95
Domain of Perfect Affection $14.00

American Poetry Now (ed. Ed Ochester) features poems by Robin Becker and many others from the Pitt Poetry Series.