AFTER TU FU

 [MY WIFE COMES TO BED

AND I TELL HER I WANT TO RECITE HER A POEM

AFTER TU FU--HERE IT IS]

When my old woman

comes to bed

and lays her body down

for me to rub the muscles

in her back, she says,

My body hurts all over

and you’re always finding

the places that hurt the most

I’m rubbing her back

when she asks,

Which Tu Fu poem is that?

Jim Bodeen

15 June 2024