Cool summer nights.
Windows open.
Lamps burning.
Fruit in the bowl.
And your head on my shoulder.
These the happiest moments in the day.
Next to the early morning hours,
of course. And the time
just before lunch.
And the afternoon, and
early evening hours.
But I do love
these summer nights.
Even more, I think,
than those other times.
The work finished for the day.
And no one who can reach us now.
Or ever.
There are times when I will be filled with a sense or rightness of the moment, and that moment will be nothing really special. I’ll be sitting in my car on a summer day, at a red light, with the windows open, and the perfect breeze will hit me, and the smell of cut grass…and I’ll think…life is truly perfect right now. Nothing special and yet everything special. That’s what this poem reminds me of.
Within the writing of this poem, there is great visual imagery. After reading this piece one can mentally picture the objects Carver describes. Also a great piece about love, and finding the time to be alone with that person away from the world.