Jim Moore: I remember my mother toward the end
16 July 2014
I remember my mother toward the end,
folding the tablecloth after dinner
so carefully,
as if it were the flag
of a country that no longer existed,
but once had ruled the world.
--Jim Moore (1943- ), from "Love in the Ruins" in his book Invisible Strings (2011, Graywolf Press). Moore's poetry is currently being featured in the New York City subway.
This is a beautiful and poignant poem that says so much in a simple yet amazingly complex sentence. I wish I had read it many years ago as it reminds me of my mother disappearing from life having held us all together for so long. Many thanks to the NYCsubway system for recognizing its beauty and bringing it to my life.
Posted by: Mary Johnson | 24 December 2014 at 03:20
I spied this section of the poem on the New York subway on my recent trip for my 50th birthday with my husband- all the way from Glasgow in Scotland. It was mesmerising-to sum up how I feel about my 78 year old, widowed mother in those few lines.... I wish I could share it with her but she might weep. Thank you. I intend to pass this to my friends.
Posted by: Amanda Pringle | 11 June 2015 at 00:18
This is an extremely moving and profound poem. I discovered it while I was in the subway and I had to take a picture of it. It is hard to describe what I felt but it really talked to me in a very deep way. I then sent it to my sister in France as it is a universal and timeless piece.
Posted by: Muriel Beer | 13 July 2017 at 23:43