~Manel Esteller
Happy Poetry Friday!
TWIN STRANGERS
Danusha Laméris
For $3.99, the website promises me the opportunity
to find my duplicate, my doppelgänger,
my double. Someone half-way around the world,
or right next door, who wears the same pointed eyebrows,
aquiline (according to the diagram) nose
on a brown and almost-oval face. “Everyone,” they say
“has seven look-alikes.” Each night in bed
I sip my cup of tea and try to forget
life’s many terrible subtractions—all the people
I’ve loved and can’t replace—while scrolling through photos
of people I don’t even know, searching for any trace
read the rest here (I love the ending)
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Thank you to Jone who reminded me to let you know about the Summer Poem Swap!
Yes, it's happening! If you're interested, email me for details or wait until next Poetry Friday when I will include them in my post. (I need to figure out the dates.) :)
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Buffy Silverman has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Buffy!
Face alphabet – such an interesting turn of phrase! You are right, Tabetha, the ending is remarkable. Also makes me want to know - who are these other seven walking around in their worlds?
ReplyDeleteNow I want to go to the store and "take an inventory of eyelids, cheek bones, chins,"
ReplyDeleteto find my doppelgangers!
7? REALLY? Here's to divvying the woe (which we all share, of course, whether we look alike or not). xo
ReplyDeleteWow, what a great poem. Didn't know about the 7 doppelgängers! Love the face alphabet especially. Thanks so much for sharing this one. :)
ReplyDeleteI love the ending, too, Tabatha, and then there's the flavor of the eager search. Does this person truly want to find the doppelgänger? The depth of thinking of that "other" one out there seems as if a great need is there. You so often find beautifully thoughtful poems. I love "every face an alphabet
ReplyDeletearranged in its own language." Thanks for the poem!
Is it weird that I see other people's doppelgangers all the time, but cringe at the idea that there are SEVEN other similar-me's??? Or maybe my own arrogance. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun poem by Danusha Laméris. I love the idea of imagining six others who look like me. Looking forward to learning more about the poetry swap next week, Tabatha. Thanks for organizing it!
ReplyDeleteI hope I'm lucky enough to meet any of my doppelgängers. I can only imagine giggling with them if I ever do.
ReplyDeleteYES! I want to be part of the summer poetry swap.
It hasn't happened as much recently, but there for a while, I was frequently being stopped by people who thought I was someone else. One of my doppelgängers lives nearby...but may be aging differently than I am! :-)
ReplyDeleteSo interesting! Hard to imagine 7 more of me!!! I look forward to learning more about the summer poem swap. I had fun with it last year. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI, too, am awed and a wee bit cringed by 7 more me's! I wonder if they dye their hair too? LOL
ReplyDeleteThe "broken hearts and chipped souls" are shared by all, no matter if we have doppelgängers. Thanks for this one, Tabatha! :)
I like the idea that there might be another someone something like me out there, one to share the woes and pleasures with, and I absolutely love this line,
ReplyDelete"every face an alphabet
arranged in its own language."
And isn't that painting from Rattle so rich and beautiful, I've been looking at it as I have a copy of it. Thanks for this intriguing poem Tabatha!
It seems impossible that there aren’t people that look alike with so many people in the world. I love this poet’s meditation on that.
ReplyDeleteI love that poem! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYep! That ending was worth the click to read the poem in its entirety. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDelete