our happiness
was when the
lights were
out
the whole city
in darkness
& we drove north
to our friend’s
yellow apt.
where she had
power & we
could work
later we stayed
in the darkened
apt. you sick
in bed & me
writing ambitiously
by candle light
in thin blue
books
your neighbor had
a generator &
after a while
we had a little
bit of light
I walked the
dog & you
were still
a little bit
sick
we sat on a stoop
one day in the
late afternoon
we had very little
money. enough for
a strong cappuccino
which we shared
sitting there &
suddenly the
city was lit.
Credit
Copyright © 2014 by Eileen Myles. Used with permission of the author.
About this Poem
“Urban nature is like living with mass conditions. It sometimes feels like a myth & you are its scribe.”
—Eileen Myles
Author
Eileen Myles

Dennis Cooper describes Myles as "one of the savviest and most restless intellects in contemporary literature." Holland Cotter names Myles as "a cult figure to a generation of post-punk female writer-performers."
Date Published: 2014-12-19
Source URL: https://poets.org/poem/our-happiness