http://www.wordnik.com/lists/poetrie-litany.xml With Thanks to Uselessness <br /> <br />Litany <br />by Billy Collins <br /> <br />You are the bread and the knife, <br />The crystal goblet and the wine.... <br />--Jacques Crickillon <br /> <br /> <br />You are the <a href="/words/bread">bread</a> and the knife, <br />the crystal goblet and the wine. <br />You are the dew on the morning grass <br />and the burning wheel of the sun. <br />You are the white apron of the baker, <br />and the marsh birds suddenly in flight. <br /> <br />However, you are not the wind in the <a href="/words/orchard">orchard</a>, <br />the plums on the counter, <br />or the house of cards. <br />And you are certainly not the pine-scented air. <br />There is just no way that you are the pine-scented air. <br /> <br />It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge, <br />maybe even the pigeon on the general's head, <br />but you are not even close <br />to being the field of <a href="/words/cornflower">cornflower</a>s at dusk. <br /> <br />And a quick look in the mirror will show <br />that you are neither the boots in the corner <br />nor the boat asleep in its <a href="/words/boathouse">boathouse</a>. <br /> <br />It might interest you to know, <br />speaking of the plentiful <a href="/words/imagery">imagery</a> of the world, <br />that I am the sound of rain on the roof. <br /> <br />I also happen to be the shooting star, <br />the evening paper blowing down an alley <br />and the basket of <a href="/words/chestnut">chestnut</a>s on the kitchen table. <br /> <br />I am also the moon in the trees <br />and the blind woman's tea cup. <br />But don't worry, I'm not the bread and the knife. <br />You are still the bread and the knife. <br />You will always be the bread and the knife, <br />not to mention the crystal goblet and--<a href="/words/somehow">somehow</a>--the wine. http://www.wordnik.com http://www.wordnik.com/words/bread Thu, 22 Feb 2007 15:38:15 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/bread http://www.wordnik.com/words/orchard Thu, 22 Feb 2007 15:38:12 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/orchard http://www.wordnik.com/words/cornflower Thu, 22 Feb 2007 15:38:01 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/cornflower http://www.wordnik.com/words/boathouse Thu, 22 Feb 2007 15:37:56 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/boathouse http://www.wordnik.com/words/imagery Thu, 22 Feb 2007 15:37:45 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/imagery http://www.wordnik.com/words/chestnut Thu, 22 Feb 2007 15:37:43 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/chestnut http://www.wordnik.com/words/somehow Thu, 22 Feb 2007 15:37:39 +0000 http://www.wordnik.com/words/somehow