April 7: The Resemblance Between Your Life and a Dog

[Martha]

The Resemblance Between Your Life and a Dog
Robert Bly

I never intended to have this life, believe me—
It just happened. You know how dogs turn up
At a farm, and they wag but can't explain.

It's good if you can accept your life—you'll notice
Your face has become deranged trying to adjust
To it. Your face thought your life would look

Like your bedroom mirror when you were ten.
That was a clear river touched by mountain wind.
Even your parents can't believe how much you've changed.

Sparrows in winter, if you've ever held one, all feathers,
Burst out of your hand with a fiery glee.
You see them later in hedges. Teachers praise you,

But you can't quite get back to the winter sparrow.
Your life is a dog. He's been hungry for miles,
Doesn't particularly like you, but gives up, and comes in.

==

The second to last line!

Today in: 

2024: The First Line is the Deepest, Kim Addonizio 
2023: Insha’Allah, Danusha Laméris
2022: To the Woman Crying Uncontrollably in the Next Stall, Kim Addonizio
2021: You Mean You Don’t Weep at the Nail Salon?, Elizabeth Acevedo
2020: Let Me Begin Again, Philip Levine
2019: Hammond B3 Organ Cistern, Gabrielle Calvocoressi
2018: Siren Song, Margaret Atwood
2017: A Sunset, Ari Banias
2016: Coming, Philip Larkin
2015: The Taxi, Amy Lowell
2014: Winter Sunrise Outside a Café Near Butte, Montana, Joe Hutchison
2013: The Last Night in Mithymna, Linda Gregg
2012: America [Try saying wren], Joseph Lease
2011: Boston, Aaron Smith
2010: How Simile Works, Albert Goldbarth
2009: Crossing Over, William Meredith
2008: The World Wakes Up, Andrew Michael Roberts
2007: Hour, Christian Hawkey
2006: For the Anniversary of My Death, W.S. Merwin
2005: The Last Poem About the Snow Queen, Sandra M. Gilbert

+ Today's poem: The Resemblance Between Your Life and a Dog, Robert Bly