Mar 2018
Hide and Seek
Charles Simic, 1938
Haven’t found anyone
From the old gang.
They must be still in hiding,
Holding their breaths
And trying not to laugh.
Our street is down on its luck
With windows broken
Where on summer nights
One heard couples arguing,
Or saw them dancing to the radio.
The redhead we were
All in love with,
Who sat on the fire escape,
Smoking late into the night,
Must be in hiding too.
The skinny boy
On crutches
Who always carried a book,
May not have
Gotten very far.
Darkness comes early
This time of year
Making it hard
To recognize familiar faces
In those of strangers.
Charles Simic, 1938
Haven’t found anyone
From the old gang.
They must be still in hiding,
Holding their breaths
And trying not to laugh.
Our street is down on its luck
With windows broken
Where on summer nights
One heard couples arguing,
Or saw them dancing to the radio.
The redhead we were
All in love with,
Who sat on the fire escape,
Smoking late into the night,
Must be in hiding too.
The skinny boy
On crutches
Who always carried a book,
May not have
Gotten very far.
Darkness comes early
This time of year
Making it hard
To recognize familiar faces
In those of strangers.
One of my favorite poems is by Charles Simic ("The Stone") so when this came up as poem-of-the-day I had to check it out - I sometimes skip over them. I liked it, especially the first stanza. Hide and Seek was a big part of my childhood. We lived out in the country so we seven siblings mostly played together - simple games like hide-and-seek, kick the can, etc. I wasn't nearly as taken with it as "The Stone". What I do really like is what he said about it. It makes me feel better about the fact that often I am the same way about "being in the dark" as to when and how a poem began. I rarely put a date when I write and often find the bare bones of poems I had begun but forgotten. But I don't mind joining Simic in his somewhat mysterious place :-)
About This Poem
“My poems are a mix of autobiography and pure invention and often take years of tinkering before they are ready, so I rarely remember when and how they began and do not keep old drafts to help me do so. I like being in the dark as to where I’m going and where I’ll end up. And I hope my readers feel the same.”
—Charles Simic
About This Poem
“My poems are a mix of autobiography and pure invention and often take years of tinkering before they are ready, so I rarely remember when and how they began and do not keep old drafts to help me do so. I like being in the dark as to where I’m going and where I’ll end up. And I hope my readers feel the same.”
—Charles Simic
