BROADCASTS.com

Published: Dec. 14, 2021, 4:20 p.m.

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Today we will be looking at the poem "Words for Worry" by Li-Young Lee.

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Bio: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/li-young-lee

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The Poem:

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Words for Worry

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by Li-Young Lee

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Another word for father is worry.

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Worry boils the water

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for tea in the middle of the night.

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Worry trimmed the child\\u2019s nails before

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singing him to sleep.

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Another word for son is delight,

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another word, hidden.

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And another is One-Who-Goes-Away.

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Yet another, One-Who-Returns.

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So many words for son:

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He-Dreams-for-All-Our-Sakes.

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His-Play-Vouchsafes-Our-Winter-Share.

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His-Dispersal-Wins-the-Birds.

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But only one word for father.

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And sometimes a man is both.

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Which is to say sometimes a man

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manifests mysteries beyond

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his own understanding.

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For instance, being the one and the many,

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and the loneliness of either. Or

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the living light we see by, we never see. Or

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the sole word weighs

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heavy as a various name.

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And sleepless worry folds the laundry for tomorrow.

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Tired worry wakes the child for school.

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Orphan worry writes the note he hides

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in the child\\u2019s lunch bag.

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It begins, Dear Firefly\\u2026.

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