Poem In Your Post Blog Hop: Famous

The river is famous to the fish.

The loud voice is famous to silence,  

which knew it would inherit the earth  

before anybody said so.  

The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds  

watching him from the birdhouse.  

The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.  

The idea you carry close to your bosom  

is famous to your bosom.  

The boot is famous to the earth,  

more famous than the dress shoe,  

which is famous only to floors.

The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it  

and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.  

I want to be famous to shuffling men  

who smile while crossing streets,  

sticky children in grocery lines,  

famous as the one who smiled back.

I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous,  

or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular,  

but because it never forgot what it could do.

                                            - Naomi Shihab Nye

I first encountered this poem when participating in the National Endowment for the Arts' program Poetry Out Loud with my students.  This is one of three I chose to memorize three years ago and I still carry it around inside me and trot it out from time to time. 

For her biography and more wonderful poems, try her page on Poets.org.  She's truly a writer worth listening to and reading, as she offers many insights about her craft in numerous forums.

How about you?  Have you memorized any poems, or parts of poems?  Which poems would you like to tote around inside you, instead of in your pocket, even if you haven't quite found the time to memorize them yet?  Alternative:  Any poem you wrote or enjoyed reading is fair game for your post, so don't be shy!

Post your link here any time this weekend, then make sure to link back to this post so that your followers and visitors can find our hop! 


As always, please support the poets who change us with their art.

See you next week, and happy hopping!

MFB,
L