Kir Poem by Bill Galvin

Carolyn Kizer impressed me with her words;
I had not read them before.
I wish I had, but my books were technical, when
She crafted poems with her pen.
She passed at 88, a couple of years ago,
At her home in Sonoma.
She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1985,
For her book of poems, 'Yin';
But is most famous for the poem 'Pro-Femina',
Within which she considers the fate of women.

I was impressed with her wide-read intellectuality,
As she wrote about Augustine and Kierkegaard,
Nietzsche and Austen;
And the fact that there are no women philosophers.

In the morning, she read with her coffee;
But afternoons, it was with a drink called kir…
So, of course, I had to look it up.
It's named after a mayor of Dijon in Burgundy,
Mostly famous after WWII,
When many dignitaries toured war-weary France.

A French black currant liqueur, crème-de-cassis,
Is mixed with a dry white wine, about 1 to 5.

I asked around of those in the know…
Those who knew mixology.
It's a bit rare, but
She had a home in Paris, too, so there.

So, I got a bottle of the crème, made in France,
To have now and again.
It's a tad sweet for me; a different cup of tea.

But when I have my glass of kir,
I'll be inspired, like the late Ms. Kizer,
And hope my poems are as good as hers.


2-23-2016