Poetry is meant to be appreciated, not dissected. So I'm pretty bummed every time a teacher asks us why the author used this word, or what did he feel in writing this, or why the color blue, or why were this and that emphasized.

That said, take the time to appreciate an excerpt of [a:Pablo Neruda|4026|Pablo Neruda|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1364566200p2/4026.jpg]'s Ode to the Present. :)

“This
moment
as smooth
as a board,
and fresh,
this hour,
this day
as clean
as an untouched glass
—not a single
spiderweb
from the past:
we touch
the moment
with our fingers,
we cut it
to size,
we direct
its blooming.
It's living,
it's alive:
it brings nothing
from yesterday that can't be redeemed,
nothing from the lost past.” ( )

This book was read aloud in entirity on 05.16.05 in a room half packed or unpacked depending on how you might interpret the fact that I'm saying Neruda, NERUDA! broke even. ( )