Poem
Penelope Shuttle
IN THE KITCHEN
IN THE KITCHEN
IN THE KITCHEN
A jug of waterhas its own lustrous turmoil
The ironing board thanks god
for its two good strong legs and sturdy back
The new fridge hums like a maniac
with helpfulness
I am trying to love the world
back to normal
The chair recites its stand-alone prayer
again and again
The table leaves no stone unturned
The clock votes for the separate burial of hearts
I am trying to love the world
and all its 8,000 identifiable languages
With the forgetfulness of a potter
I’m trying to get the seas back on the maps
where they belong
secured to their rivers
The kettle alone knows the good he does,
Here in the kitchen, loving the world,
Steadfastly loving
See how easy it is, he whistles
© 2006, Penelope Shuttle
From: David Higham Associates, on behalf of Penelope Shuttle
Publisher: First published on PIW,
From: David Higham Associates, on behalf of Penelope Shuttle
Publisher: First published on PIW,
Penelope Shuttle
(United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1947)
“In my poetry I give primacy to the breath. For me it is the way the poem breathes that gives it form.”
Penelope Shuttle lives in Falmouth on the south coast of Cornwall not far from Land’s End, the toe of England. She was married to the poet Peter Redgrove, who died in 2003, and has a grown-up daughter, Zoe.
Penelope Shuttle lives in Falmouth on the south coast of Cornwall not far from Land’s End, the toe of England. She was married to the poet Peter Redgrove, who died in 2003, and has a grown-up daughter, Zoe.
Poems
Poems of Penelope Shuttle
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IN THE KITCHEN
A jug of waterhas its own lustrous turmoil
The ironing board thanks god
for its two good strong legs and sturdy back
The new fridge hums like a maniac
with helpfulness
I am trying to love the world
back to normal
The chair recites its stand-alone prayer
again and again
The table leaves no stone unturned
The clock votes for the separate burial of hearts
I am trying to love the world
and all its 8,000 identifiable languages
With the forgetfulness of a potter
I’m trying to get the seas back on the maps
where they belong
secured to their rivers
The kettle alone knows the good he does,
Here in the kitchen, loving the world,
Steadfastly loving
See how easy it is, he whistles
From: David Higham Associates, on behalf of Penelope Shuttle
IN THE KITCHEN
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