Feb 17, 2023
I long to see you, hear your voice, My narcissistic object-choice.
Wendy Cope, As Sweet
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I long to see you, hear your voice, My narcissistic object-choice.
Wendy Cope, As Sweet
Twin souls, we two.
Wendy Cope, Serious Concerns; from ‘As Sweet’
At lunchtime I bought a huge orange— The size of it made us all laugh. I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave— And that orange, it made me so happy, As ordinary things often do Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park. This is peace and contentment. It’s new. The rest of the day was quite easy. I did all the jobs on my list And enjoyed them and had some time over.
Wendy Cope, "The Orange" from Serious Concerns, January 1, 1992
I’m loving these Faber&Faber editions. Death of a Naturalist is beautiful and I’m working my way through Serious Concerns.
I can't forgive you. Even if I could, / You wouldn't pardon me for seeing through you. / And yet I cannot cure myself of love / For what I thought you were before I knew you.
— Wendy Cope, from "Defining the Problem," in Serious Concerns
My boyfriend gave me a copy of Wendy Cope's Serious Concerns and I was so happy when I found out that it was this author who wrote the "orange poem"!
Favourite poems by Wendy Cope 1/7 (2,3,4)
I am currently considering the question of whether or not the Mines of Moria could have been built around a natural cavern. I fear I have already dug too greedily and too deep.
After the Lunch
On Waterloo Bridge, where we said our goodbyes, The weather conditions bring tears to my eyes. I wipe them away with a black woolly glove And try not to notice I’ve fallen in love.
On Waterloo Bridge I am trying to think: This is nothing. you’re high on the charm and the drink. But the juke-box inside me is playing a song That says something different. And when was it wrong?
On Waterloo Bridge with the wind in my hair I am tempted to skip. You’re a fool. I don’t care. The head does its best but the heart is the boss -- I admit it before I am halfway across.
Wendy Cope, from Serious Concerns (1992)