1 <br /> <br />The brightly-painted horse <br />Had a boy's face, <br />And four small wheels <br />Under his feet, <br /> <br />Plus a long string <br />To pull him by this way and that <br />Across the floor, <br />Should you care to. <br /> <br />A string in-waiting <br />That slipped away <br />In many wiles <br />From each and every try. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2 <br /> <br />Knock and they'll answer, <br />Mother told me. <br /> <br />So I climbed four flights of stairs <br />And went in unannounced. <br /> <br />And found a small wooden toy <br />For the taking <br /> <br />In the ensuing emptiness <br />And the fading daylight <br /> <br />That still gives me a shudder <br />As if I held the key to mysteries in my hand. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 3 <br /> <br />Where's the Lost and Found Department, <br />And the quiet entry, <br />The undeveloped film <br />Of the few clear moments <br />Of our blurred lives? <br /> <br />Where's the drop of blood <br />And the teeny nail <br />That pricked my finger <br />As I bent down to touch the toy <br /> <br />And caught its eye? <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 4 <br /> <br />Evening light, <br /> <br />Make me a Sunday <br />Go-to meeting shadow <br />For my toy. <br /> <br />My dearest memories are <br />Steep stair-wells <br />In dusty buildings <br />On dead-end streets, <br /> <br />Where I talk to the walls <br />And closed doors <br />As if they understood me. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 5 <br /> <br />The wooden toy sitting pretty. <br /> <br />No, quieter than that. <br /> <br />Like the sound of eyebrows <br />Raised by a villain <br />In a silent movie. <br /> <br />Psst, someone said behind my back. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />------------------------------------ <br />Poetry <br />Volume CLXXI, Number 1 <br />Eighty-Fifth Anniversary <br />Special Double Issue <br />October-November 1997 <br /><br />Charles Simic<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-wooden-toy/
