Edward Hirsch has built a reputation as an unflinching witness to life over the course of nine poetry collections, including Gabriel: A Poem, The Living Fire: New & Selected Poems, and Stranger by Night (Knopf, 2020). His celebrated critical works, including How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry and The Demon and the Angel, offer close, and accessible, readings of an eclectic mix of poems. A recipient of the National Book Critics Circle Award, Hirsch serves as president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

When You Write the Story

by Edward Hirsch

When you write the story
of being a father
don’t leave out the joy
of romping up and down
the stairs together
or curving a whiffle ball
across the hallway
or sneaking
past the poor dog

People on couch
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