Mark Doty is a contemporary American poet who is regarded as one of the most important poets of his generation. He was born in Maryville, Tennessee, and attended Drake University and Goddard College. He won the National Book Award for Poetry.
‘Golden Retrievals’ is a poignant poem that personifies man’s best-friend in an attempt to remind us that happiness and shelter from life’s woes is best found in the present.
Fetch? Balls and sticks capture my attention
seconds at a time. Catch? I don’t think so.
Bunny, tumbling leaf, a squirrel who’s—oh
joy—actually scared. Sniff the wind, then
‘Brilliance’ by Mark Doty describes a dying man who wants to control his own life. He eventually opens himself up to new experiences.
Maggie’s taking care of a man
who’s dying; he’s attended to everything,
said goodbye to his parents,
In ‘Esta Noche,’ Lola’s vibrant persona celebrates self-expression, challenging norms with captivating language and the allure of drag performance.
In a dress with a black tulip’s sheen
la fabulosa Lola enters, late, mounts the stairs
to the plywood platform, and begs whoever runs
the wobbling spot to turn the lights down
Mark Doty’s ‘Bill’s Story’ appears in his best-known poetry collection My Alexandria (1993). This poem is about the death of a speaker’s sister suffering from dementia and AIDS.
When my sister came back from Africa,
we didn't know at first how everything
had changed. After a while Annie
bought men's and boy's clothes in all sizes,
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