Denise Duhamel is coming to Cleveland!

I’m so excited! Denise Duhamel is coming to Cleveland for IMAGINATION. And Suzanne is coming back from El Salvador next Sunday! Hurray! I asked Suzanne what she’s learned in the Peace Corps so far, and she said, well, a lot of things. But one thing she’s learned for certain is that the word, manana, could mean any day. Or maybe never. Which reminds me of this terrific poem by Denise Duhamal, “Yes.”

It begins like this:

According to Culture Shock:
A Guide to Customs and Etiquette
of Filipinos, when my husband says yes,
he could also mean one of the following:

a.) I don’t know
b.) If you say so
c.) If it will please you
d.) I hope I have said yes unenthusiastically enough
for you to realize I mean no.

(from The Star-Spangled Banner, Southern Illinois University Press, p. 3)