101 Poems, Number 87

Favorite Poems Throughout My Life

87: “High School Senior,” 1996, in The Wellspring, by Sharon Olds (1942–)

It was a great discovery—

The poetry of Sharon Olds.

She grabbed my eyes and helped them see

Life’s fabric—with its textures, folds.

A thrill for me: I met her once*—

She visited the place I taught.

Her work rewards the one who hunts

For what is real, for what is not.

Quotidian events flow through

Her poems—from the first to last.

Our daily lives—the things we do

And feel. Yes, we compose her cast.

So, write on, Sharon Olds! Write on!

The weary world requires your verse.

So much civility is gone—

And Poetry’s replaced with Curse.

*She spent the day at Western Reserve Academy on April 19, 2006.

Link to poem.