"Surfaces" by Kay Ryan

Surfaces serve

their own purposes,

strive to remain

constant (all lives

want that). There is   

a skin, not just on   

peaches but on oceans

(note the telltale

slough of foam on beaches).

Sometimes it’s loose,

as in the case

of cats: you feel how a   

second life slides

under it. Sometimes it

fits. Take glass.

Sometimes it outlasts

its underside. Take reefs.

The private lives of surfaces

are innocent, not devious.

Take the one-dimensional

belief of enamel in itself,

the furious autonomy

of luster (crush a pearl—

it’s powder), the whole

curious seamlessness

of how we’re each surrounded

and what it doesn’t teach.

Commentary:

One of my students performed this for our school's "Poetry Out Loud" celebration a couple years ago. It has stuck with me ever since. If you're not familiar with Poetry Out Loud, check it out here.