美国国家公共电台 NPR Sleep Loss, Sunscreen, And Very Little Sex In These 'Love Poems' For Parents

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

There are countless¹ love songs and love poems. She walks in beauty, like the night of cloudless climes and starry² skies. And all that's best of dark and bright meet in her aspect and her eyes. That's Byron. Google it. But you notice how love poems don't mention diapers, tantrums or eating leftover³ Pop-Tarts from the floor? Most paeans⁴ to love are about the first blush of attraction - before marriage or children. But John Kenney, The New Yorker contributor and winner of the Thurber Prize, has written a book of tender and passionate⁵ poems of devotion for lovers who are partners in the love of a child or several children - "Love Poems for People with Children." John Kenney joins us in our studios. Thanks so much for being with us.

JOHN KENNEY: Thank you for having me.

SIMON: You know, I don't want to delay the rapturousness (ph) of these poetic⁷ insights you have. So could we get you, please, to read the poem "My six-year-old got hold of my phone."

KENNEY: I would be happy to.

(Reading) My apologies, Reverend. My 6-year-old got hold of my phone and sent you 142 poop emojis. Please know that this in no way reflects my opinion of you or the church. Although it does make me wonder if there is a God. To my father-in-law, Lou, no grandparent should ever receive a GIF of Fabio not wearing pants, dancing suggestively with the words let's get it on. I was sure I had deleted that. And to my boss, Gary, did you happen to receive a photo of a baboon's ass⁶ with a note reading, found this picture of you? I sent that one.

SIMON: That is so affecting and beautiful.

KENNEY: Thank you very much. I take my poetry seriously.

SIMON: Yeah. Who do you count as your poetic inspirations - Keats, Millay, Shelley?

KENNEY: Really all of those people. I think my poetry is - I use that word loosely - is poetry in much the same way, say, Arby's is farm-to-table dining.

SIMON: (Laughter) I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm laughing. One of the many joys of parenthood is rediscovering childhood. Could we please get you to read the poem "I am fully⁸ aware that the wheels on the bus go round and round"?

KENNEY: Course. (Reading) I am fully aware that the wheels on the bus go round and round. I get it. I know about the wheels and the horn and the babies. Everyone knows that. Here's something you might not know. The daddy on this bus is thinking, this is not what I signed up for. And maybe the driver on the bus is thinking the exact same thing. Maybe he looks over at the daddy. And he doesn't go, move on back. Maybe instead he nods and smiles. And the daddy nods and smiles. And the driver hits the gas and goes zoom⁹, zoom, zoom so fast the mommies on the bus say, slow down.

SIMON: (Laughter).

KENNEY: (Reading) And the driver screeches¹⁰ to a halt at the corner because he sees a sign for a bar called Open at 9 a.m. And he and the daddy get off the bus and go into a bar. Call an Uber because this bus is out of service.

SIMON: (Laughter).

KENNEY: (Reading) Sing that verse, why don't you?

SIMON: (Laughter) That is so tender. There is another poem that I wanted you to read that I think would be important for people to hear. I do want to caution our listeners - the poem might contain disturbing content, which is what we have to do nowadays. The poem is called "Baby Wipes."

KENNEY: "Baby Wipes." (Reading) If you had told me in my 20s that I would do this, I wouldn't believe you. But this morning, the baby's poop shot out like a cannonball. And some of it landed in my hair. Well, I was pretty tired. And I guess too lazy to shower. And I was late for work. So what I did was take a baby wipe and clean it out of my hair - most of it anyway. Then I went on with my day.

SIMON: That is such a tender and beautiful image - shot out like a cannonball, really.

KENNEY: Well, you know, marriage with children is endlessly sort of elegiac and beautiful, isn't it?

SIMON: Yes. Yeah. As these poems underscore.

KENNEY: It's perfect.

SIMON: Yeah.

KENNEY: There is just endless amounts of sleep and love and almost too much sex and...

SIMON: (Laughter).

KENNEY: ...It's a joy is what it is.

SIMON: Well, it is a joy. But we'll get to that. I do want to ask about your - you know, your method of construction. I mean, what comes first to you, the imagery or the wordplay?

KENNEY: I think it's the title. I've been very fortunate that I have a lot of parent friends. And I will send out an email saying, give me your tired and poor and worst situations. And we try to turn those into poems. I don't draw on my own life at all, Scott. It's perfect. It's all made up. It's all fiction.

SIMON: I am taking a look at your hair.

KENNEY: (Laughter).

SIMON: But that's - hadn't occurred to me before. A last poem to share.

KENNEY: The predecessor¹¹ to this book was "Love Poems for Married People." And right before the book went to the printer, I thought, you know, I should attempt to write one real one. And I wrote it to my wife. And I thought with this one, I should do the same thing but to my children. So I have a daughter and a son - Lulu and Hewitt. So this poem is called "For Lulu and Hewitt."

(Reading) No offense¹² to either of you, but I preferred the idea of kids to actual kids. Who needs kids of their own when you have nine nieces and nephews? You get to be an uncle for a while. Then you get to go home alone and sleep. I blame your mother and her beautiful face and deeply kind spirit and her perfect answer to why she wanted children, because I'm tired of worrying about myself. I want to worry about someone else. Can I tell you two a secret? I was afraid. I was afraid I wouldn't be good enough - too moody¹³, too needy¹⁴, too impatient, too selfish, too lacking. But then you were born. And you told me a secret. Dad, you whispered, all you have to do is watch me and listen to me and take my hand. And I'll teach you how to be a father. And then you spit up on my shirt. Every night before you go to sleep, I lean down and whisper the same sentence. In a lifetime of questions and confusion, they are the truest words I know. I am so lucky to be your dad.

SIMON: That's beautiful. Children are the great blessing¹⁵ and adventure of our lives all at once, aren't they?

KENNEY: You're not going to get an argument from me.

SIMON: John Kenney - his book "Love Poems for People with Children." Thanks so much for being with us.

KENNEY: Thank you for having me.

(SOUNDBITE OF JOHN STORY'S "WHEELS ON THE BUS, GO ROUND AND ROUND")

1 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

2 starry   

adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的

参考例句：

• He looked at the starry heavens.他瞧着布满星星的天空。
• I like the starry winter sky.我喜欢这满天星斗的冬夜。

3 leftover   

n.剩货，残留物，剩饭；adj.残余的

参考例句：

• These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
• Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。

4 paeans   

n.赞歌，凯歌( paean的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Kepler in particular wrote Paeans to God on the occasion of each discovery. Kepler在每次获得发现时都对上帝写了颂歌。 来自辞典例句

5 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

6 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

7 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

10 screeches   

n.尖锐的声音( screech的名词复数 )v.发出尖叫声( screech的第三人称单数 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫

参考例句：

• The boy's screeches brought his mother. 男孩的尖叫声招来了他母亲。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The woman's screeches brought the police. 这个妇女的尖叫声招来了警察。 来自辞典例句

11 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

12 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

13 moody   

adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的

参考例句：

• He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
• I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。

14 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

15 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。