"Days With the Family Realist"

A poem by Phi Beta Kappa poet Albert Goldbarth

Albert Goldbarth

 

 

Albert Goldbarth's introductory remarks

[video:https://harvardmagazine.com/sites/default/files/media/2009-goldbarth-intro-remarks.mp3 width:250 height:20]

Poem: "Voyage" [video:https://harvardmagazine.com/sites/default/files/media/2009-goldbarth-voyage-b.mp3 width:250 height:20]

Poem: "Days With the Family Realist" [video:https://harvardmagazine.com/sites/default/files/media/2009-goldbarth-days.mp3 width:250 height:20]

 

For complete coverage of the 2009 Phi Beta Kappa ceremony, see Harvard Magazine's Commencement kick-off and "'Habits are Values in Disguise': The Phi Beta Kappa Exercises"

 

 

 

 

A doorknob on a chicken
my grandmother said once, meaning

useless, stupid. Most of us,
most of the time, are that

exactly. Not that
we don’t have our ambitions,

even our nickel-and-dime
nobilities. Still, some nights

when I can’t sleep, I look
in the mirror, I study this man

who’s planning his own small
parthenons and relativity theories,

bank heists, moon shots, deathless poems.
Go milk a fish she also said. 

 

 

Text copyright Albert Goldbarth

Click here for the July-August 2009 issue table of contents

You might also like

Reconstructing the Berlin Wall

David Leo Rice explores the strange, unseen forces shaping our world.

Off the Shelf

The wealth gap, shamanism, the life of David Nathan, and more

Making Money Funny

Matt Levine’s spunky Bloomberg column

Most popular

In Federal Court, Harvard and the Government Have Friends

A look at the amicus curiae briefs in Harvard’s funding case

House Committee Subpoenas Harvard Over Tuition Costs

The University must turn over all requested materials related to tuition and financial aid by mid-July. 

Mexican Soul

How Claudia García got “mariachi fever”

Explore More From Current Issue

Harvard’s Plant Collection Meets Space Science

Light-based analysis of botanical collections link plants to Earth’s changing climate.

Harvard Summer Reading Picks | 2025

The wealth gap, shamanism, the life of David Nathan, and more

Will the U.S. Dollar Always Be So Powerful?

The preeminence of U.S. currency at risk