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Erica Jong

Erica Jong

I Try to Keep

I try to keep
falling in love
if only to keep
death
 
at bay.
 
I know
that the burned
witches,
that the seared flesh
of the enemy–
 
O we are all
each other’s
enemies,
even sometimes those
who lately
were
 
lovers–
 
are not
to be reconstituted
nor healed
 
by my
falling
in love;
 
& yet
here is
the paradox:
 
love drives
the poem–
 
& the poem
is
hope.

#Americans #Jews #Women

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