Poets & Writers
Published on Poets & Writers (https://www.pw.org)

Home > Stories of the Home

Stories of the Home [1]

Poetry [2]
12.20.22

“This table has been a house in the rain, an umbrella in the sun. // Wars have begun and ended at this table. It is a place to hide in the shadow of terror. A place to / celebrate the terrible victory.” In her seminal poem “Perhaps the World Ends Here,” [3] Joy Harjo explores the shared history of humanity through the image of a kitchen table. “We have given birth on this table, and have prepared our parents for burial here. // At this table we sing with joy, with sorrow. We pray of suffering and remorse. We give thanks,” writes Harjo. Write a poem that explores the joyful and sorrowful history of a past or present family home. What stories do the rooms, tables, and walls of your home tell you?


Source URL:https://www.pw.org/content/stories_of_the_home

Links
[1] https://www.pw.org/content/stories_of_the_home [2] https://www.pw.org/genre/poetry [3] https://www.pw.org/content/perhaps_the_world_ends_here_0