A paraoh, a poet, a big deal.

This week I went to Barnes & Noble at Union Square to see one of my favorite poets, Nina Cassian, who was doing a special reading for Poetry in Motion. New Yorkers know Poetry in Motion as those poetry ads you let your eyes wander to when avoiding the gaze of fellow straphangers on the subway.

There was a book signing afterwards, and I brought an old collection of poems with me. As I ascended the steps onto the platform where she was seated, my heart started to beat really fast. To me, she's kind of a big deal. Lots of thoughts started to run through my head. What would I say when I get to speak to her? I wanted to tell her how I found her book of poems by accident—it was sitting on a pile of free books at the English department in college a few years ago. No… then she’ll think someone didn’t think her book was worthy enough to keep. That might hurt her feelings. Oh shoot.

So when I met her, all I could squeak out was, “Oh my god, it’s so nice to meet you.”

She sees the book I have for her to sign and she is pleasantly surprised that it’s an old edition, as if someone had dug up a favorite sweater from a box in the attic. She asks me who she should make it out to, so I give her my name. “Is that all? Just your name?” she asks in her heavy Romanian accent. I give her kind of a geeky smile, “That’s it!” Well, no, that’s not it, I thought. Give me some insight into the meaning of life! How did you know you were meant to be a writer? What is the secret of humanity?!

But that’s a lot of words to ask for from a person, even if she is a poet.

From Life Sentence, Selected Poems by Nina Cassian--

Pride

I have no time to offer proof to you
Of the great, astonishing virtues I possess; therefore,
Those who have eyes will see, those who do not see,
My eyes will remain undiscovered as before.

Some there are who, meeting me, have said:
“Welcome to my life, you living wonder!”
Other had nothing whatever to say to me,
And I left them far behind, wanting upward to wander.

Time sweeps on, and I have precious gifts,
And I constantly seek out those who merit them.
If I do not find them, then let me be buried
Like a paraoh, with my riches, so the Earth may inherit them.