Like many things this summer, it’s been a slow time in the poetry box. Our housesitter posted the delightful “Zen of Tipping” weeks ago and I’m only today sending it out and swapping in a new poem, the also delightful “Splitting an Order.” Given the heat, not many people are out walking in Austin anyway.
Jan Beatty’s poem feels like one of those stories we all love to tell about the quirky, endearing things people in our lives do. And Ted Kooser’s poem, an old favorite, offers its own snapshot of an action in the world, this one infused with the regularity of a long relationship and the tenderness that grows from it. I’m glad that both of these poems exist to help carry us through a long, hot season.
“...he’d go up,
pull out a dollar and say,
Here’s a tip for you.
I think you’re doing a really
good job today.”
