Adrienne Rich (1929–2012)

Final Notations

It will not be simple, it will not take long
It will take little time, it will take all your thought
It will take all your heart, it will take all your breath
It will be short, it will not be simple

It will touch through your ribs, it will take all your heart
It will not take long, it will occupy all your thought
As a city is occupied, as a bed is occupied
It will take your flesh, it will not be simple

You are coming into us who cannot withstand you
You are coming into us who never wanted to withstand you
You are taking parts of us into places never planned
You are going far away with pieces of our lives

It will be short, it will take all your breath
It will not be simple, it will become your will

Adrienne Rich (1929–2012) was an American poet, essayist, and feminist. She was one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century. Many of her poems document the search for political and social justice. This poem is from her collection An Atlas of the Difficult World (Norton, 1991).