Radical by Marianne Moore

Radical by Marianne Moore 1887 – 1972 Taperingto a point, conserving everything, this carrot is predestined to be thick. The world is but a circumstance, a mis- erable corn-patch for its feet. With ambition, imagination, outgrowth,nutriment,with everything crammed belligerent- ly inside itself, its fibres breed mon- opoly — a tail-like, wedge-shaped engine with the secret of expansion, fused with intensive heat to the color of the set-ting sun andstiff. For the man in the straw hat, stand- ing still and turning to look back at it — as much as to say my happiest moment has been funereal in comparison with this, the con- ditions of life pre-determinedslavery to be easy and freedom hard. For it? Dismiss agrarian lore; it tells him this: that which it is impossible to force, it is impossible to hinder.Mentioned in this episode:Write After with One Poem OnlyWrite After is a way to encourage poets to listen and write, and use National Poetry Month to highlight how listening to poetry makes us better poets. I know I write the best when I’m surrounded by beautiful poetry–it’s part of the reason I created this podcast, and I want to encourage others to share this practice. If you want to join: Listen to a poem from the month of April on One Poem Only, then write your own in response. I will pick one for each day to read in June for a special series: One Poem After 🍎🍏 Submissions close May 15.Write After Submissions Form