#MIDDLEBURY
Tender Buttons [Dirt and Not Copper]
Gertrude Stein
Dirt and not copper makes a color darker. It makes the shape so heavy and makes no melody harder.
It makes mercy and relaxation and even a strength to spread a table fuller. There are more places not empty. They see cover.
About this poem
“Tender Buttons [Dirt and Not Copper]” was published in “Tender Buttons” (Claire Marie, 1914).
About Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein was born in Allegheny, Pa., on February 3, 1874. Her first book, “Three Lives,” was published in 1909 (Grafton Press, 1909). Among Stein’s most influential works are “The Making of Americans” (Contact Press, 1925) and “The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas” (Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1933). She died on July 27, 1946.
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.
This poem is in the public domain. Originally published in Poem-a-Day, www.poets.org. Distributed by King Features Syndicate.
