#MIDDLEBURY
My Sadness
Campbell McGrath
Another year is coming to an end
but my old t-shirts will not be back –
the pea-green one from Trinity College,
gunked with streaks of lawnmower grease,
the one with orange bat wings
from Diamond Cavern, Kentucky,
vanished
without a trace.
After a two-day storm I wander the beach
admiring the ocean’s lack of attachment.
I huddle beneath a seashell,
lonely as an exile.
My sadness is the sadness of water fountains.
My sadness is as ordinary as these gulls
importuning for Cheetos or scraps
of peanut butter sandwiches.
Feed them a single crust
and they will never leave you alone.
About this poem
“As you get older, certain facts come sharply into focus, like the importance of T-shirts in our lives. If you live in a place like Florida, your wardrobe may consist of little else. T-shirts are boon companions, and their loss is a reminder of the fleeting and ineffable nature of existence. As for Cheetos, just don’t bring them to the beach, OK?” – Campbell McGrath
About Campbell McGrath
Campbell McGrath is the author of 10 books of poetry, most recently “XX: Poems for the Twentieth Century” (Ecco Press, 2016). He teaches in the M.F.A. program at Florida International University in Miami, where he lives with his family.
The Academy of American Poets is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, whose aim is to make poetry available to a wider audience. Email The Academy at poem-a-day@poets.org.
(c) 2016 Campbell McGrath. Originally published in Poem-a-Day, www.poets.org. Distributed by King Features Syndicate.
