Trojan Poetry 65: "This Morning, I Wanted Four Legs" by Jane Hirshfield

Oh no!  I messed up. The other Jane Hirshfield episode is #37.  #36 is really good too, though!

Video interview of Hirshfield mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4-UKzxrJvQ

This Morning, I Wanted Four Legs
by Jane Hirshfield

Nothing on two legs weighs much,
or can.
An elephant, a donkey, even a cookstove—
those legs, a person could stand on.
Two legs pitch you forward.
Two legs tire.
They look for another two legs to be with,
to move one set forward to music
while letting the other move back.
They want to carve into a tree trunk:
2gether 4ever.
Nothing on two legs can bark,
can whinny or chuff.
Tonight, though, everything’s different.
Tonight I want wheels.


Published in The New Yorker, July 2, 2012