A tip of the hat to my friend, poet Ashley McHugh, for bringing Dorothea Grossman’s “The Two Times I Loved You Most In a Car” to my attention. In this two-stanza poem, the speaker recalls two instances in which sensory experience startled her: the quietness of elephants swaying among palm trees, and the appearance of stars in the desert night sky.
(You can read more about Dorothea Grossman here and here.
It’s a beautiful little poem; I’ve been thinking about who the addressed person is (A partner? A parent? A friend?).
What do you think? If you were to write a poem on the same subject, which two experiences would you write about?
Rosemary and Reading Glasses 
Really liked that one!
Me too! It hit me just the right way.
Yes, it is beautiful and makes you visualize other similar experiences you have had, plus it makes you wonder who the writer was with. Very nice.
It made me think of the time we were at the wildlife sanctuary in Ontario and the monkeys were climbing all over our car, and the giraffes were looking in the windows. 🙂
I admit that this would have terrified me–primates scare me. But giraffes are awesome!
We had an old car at the time with the long thin panels that went across the sides of the car, and the monkeys tore them off!
Gah!
Oh she is wonderful! I have never come across her work before but I loved every poem at Poetry Foundation. Thanks for introducing her to me!
You’re most welcome! Every time I visit The Poetry Foundation I’m floored by the number of poets I don’t know (and end up loving).