Embarrassing Confession: When I read the love poem that Sue posted, my first thought was “Pablo Neruda. Oh yeah! Il Postino!”

If you name a poet, there’s a 78% chance that I’ve never heard of him or her. It’s not that I’m a hater of poetry, it’s more like: I’m mortifyingly ignorant.

With that said, I DO have a favorite poet. It’s Mark Strand.

And I DO have a favorite Mark Strand poem. It’s Make Believe Ballroom Time. And here it is.

“Judging from his suit which was excessively drab but expensive, and his speech which was uninflected and precise, I guessed he was a banker, perhaps a lawyer, even a professor in one of the larger, better universities. It never occurred to me that he might be something else until, during a lull in our conversation, he suddenly got up and began dancing. The others at the party, plainly disturbed by this, affected a more intense involvement in their conversations then was necessary. They spoke loudly, rapidly. But the man continued dancing. And because I recognized what calling, what distant music he obeyed, I envied him.”

I can’t even convey how much I love this.

Personal Goal for 2008: Remember that the people I tend to avoid might be filled to the brim with pleasant surprises.