Move to the City

Move to the City  

by Nathaniel Bellows

live life as a stranger. Disappear

into frequent invention, depending

on the district, wherever you get off

the train. For a night, take the name

of the person who'd say yes to that

offer, that overture, the invitation to

kiss that mouth, sit on that lap. Assume

the name of whoever has the skill to

slip from the warm side of the sleeping

stranger, dress in the hallway of the

hotel. This is a city where people

know the price of everything, and

know that some of the best things

still come free. In one guise: shed

all that shame. In another: flaunt the

plumage you've never allowed

yourself to leverage. Danger will

always be outweighed by education,

even if conjured by a lie. Remember:

go home while it's still dark. Don't

invite anyone back. And, once inside,

take off the mask. These inventions

are the art of a kind of citizenship,

and they do not last. In the end, it

might mean nothing beyond further

fortifying the walls, crystallizing

the questioned, tested autonomy,

ratifying the fact that nothing will be

as secret, as satisfying, as the work

you do alone in your room.

About This Poem

"What can one learn from anonymity? Freedom, flexibility, invention, the chance to know who you are by acting out who you may not be. There is a lot to be gained from participating in the world around you, from engagement. This poem is an homage to the art of autonomy." 

 --Nathaniel Bellows

About this Poet

Nathaniel Bellows is the author of Why Speak? (W. W. Norton, 2008). He is also the author of the novel, On This Day (HarperCollins, 2003). Bellows lives in New York City.

Many of us who write blogs do so in anonymity, so we know that we can learn much from anonymity.  As an anonymous blogger, I continue to learn more about myself.  There is so much we can learn from Mr. Bellows's poem.  I chose this poem the same way I choose many poems,  after reading it and reading what the author said about it, the poem spoke to me.  Poems that speak to us, are often the greatest of poetry because it brings its own meaning to our soul.