tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201156352024-03-07T13:50:54.111-05:00The Jackdaw's NestA place to stash those bright, shiny bits which attract my attention.Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.comBlogger112125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-91705157437371216012013-08-21T18:34:00.001-04:002013-08-21T18:37:43.056-04:00NaPo Poems -- April 2013<br />
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4/1:</div>
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<b>Small Song: Ambivalence</b></div>
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Only a few white blooms</div>
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dot the blackberry canes</div>
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along the river bank --</div>
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either a slow spring</div>
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or a summer's dearth.</div>
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* * *</div>
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4/2:</div>
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<b>Small Song: Cartography</b></div>
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My finger traces </div>
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the stretchmarks</div>
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about your center; </div>
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they map </div>
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the terrain </div>
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of our journey </div>
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to this day,</div>
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to this bed,</div>
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to this joy.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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4/3:</div>
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<b>Small Song: Gift</b></div>
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Four-petalled heavens, </div>
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suncross centered --</div>
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I give you bluets </div>
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that you may always</div>
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walk in morning.</div>
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* * *</div>
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4/4:</div>
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http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/33225/title/Navel-Bugs/<br />
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<b>Small Song: Precautionary</b> </div>
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I've always loved your navel;</div>
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I'm sure I always will.</div>
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But I think it needs a label:</div>
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"Tongues here may make you ill."</div>
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* * *</div>
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4/5:</div>
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<b>Small Song: Mimesis</b></div>
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Suspended, frozen raindrops line</div>
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the undersides of peach twigs,</div>
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empty buds of unremitting winter.</div>
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* * *</div>
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4/6:</div>
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<b>Small Song: Forage</b></div>
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I hang clusters of wisteria blossoms</div>
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over your breasts, then play the bee</div>
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to nestle and nuzzle nature's bounty,</div>
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and yours.</div>
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* * *</div>
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4/7:</div>
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<b>Small Song: Completion</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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You ripen me. You -- presence, breath, touch --</div>
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restart the stalled cycle. The comfortable curve</div>
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of my husk grows closer, crowding. </div>
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Eager, fearful, I seek harvest. Open me.</div>
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* * *</div>
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4/8:</div>
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<b>Small Song: Commotion</b></div>
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Rain-bloated, the stream shouts loudly</div>
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down the stony ledges of its bed;</div>
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on the banks, intimidated bullfrogs</div>
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hunker in mute recognition of the futility</div>
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of competing in bluster.</div>
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* * *</div>
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4/9:</div>
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<b>Small Song: Performer</b></div>
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Spendthrift cherries toss</div>
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their coins of petals</div>
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to the busking wind.</div>
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* * *</div>
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4/10:</div>
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<b>Small Song: Sarabande</b></div>
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Seeping through luminous moss</div>
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at the bluff's edge, thin trickles of water</div>
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caught by the sun flare chrome-bright,</div>
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strings struck and quivering with light's slow dance.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/11:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Small Song: Transfiguration</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Autumn's last bleached leaf</div>
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dangling from its shrub</div>
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launches itself into still air --</div>
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April's first pale moth.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/12:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Small Song: Recognition</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Reticent light, mist-thinned, fails to articulate </div>
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the precise details of morning; clumsy lumps</div>
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waver and stumble across dim fields of view,</div>
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unreliable as the very first promises of love.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/13:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Small Song: Springfest</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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April is the lovesome month,</div>
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lifting your skirt with its frisky wind</div>
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and awakening your inner thighs</div>
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with its moist heat. I can but follow</div>
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behind and ask, "May I?"</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/14:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Small Song: Legacy</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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How odd that it's bone,</div>
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that least resilient,</div>
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most inflexible of my selves,</div>
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which best adapts </div>
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to enduring death.</div>
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Small mystery, then, the world </div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
is hard to change.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/15:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Small Song: Absences</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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If not for the empty dark between,</div>
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Deneb's glory would be</div>
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indistinguishable from Rigel's,</div>
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nor would the firefly's brief spark</div>
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cry out through the night.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/16:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Small Song: Open</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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You rustle and stir</div>
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like a bee-roused blossom,</div>
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urgent with quiver </div>
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in the heat of the sun,</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
and moist with nectar</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
to sweeten my tongue.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/17:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Small Song: Aria</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Across the shingle beach,</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the sun sings, its white heat</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
shrill; stones ring with light,</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
a music tense with fire</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
until high tide mutes the tones,</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
softening the song to peace,</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
to cool, to rhythms of sleep.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/18:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Small Song: Snoop</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
The door of afternoon has opened</div>
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on the sun sliding down the sky, </div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
tilted light peering deeper and deeper</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
along the length of the hall as if hoping</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
to reach into the centermost intimacies</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of our life. We close the door and wait</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
until the muffled footsteps of dusk have</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
faded completely away before we </div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
set sparks to the lantern of our love.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/19:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<b>Small Song: Decor</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Along the muddy track to the pond,</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
black-stroked orange and tan flicker</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
in morning light, drawing the eye</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
to piled cow dung festooned </div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
with feasting tawny emperors.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/20:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<b>Small Song: Aftermath</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Once I'm cremated, I'll flow like water:</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
no predetermined up and down, no limits </div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
imposed by some parsimonious rectitude;</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
I'll tumble and spin and look everywhere</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
all at once, uninhibited</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
by a privileged point of view.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/21:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<b>Small Song: Revaluation</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Palm trees rattle like the ribs of the dead; </div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
they've no solace from the sun.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
White sands stultify with their blaze.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Jellyfish stalk waders in tepid shallows.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Next year: Back to the mountains.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/22:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Small Song: Suspension</b></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
This is it. This is the season,</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the month, the day, the hour</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
that I will approach you,</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
hanging like Harold Lloyd high up</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
from the hands of the tower clock,</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
just one camera, just one take,</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
and no safety net.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/23:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Small Song: Permanence</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
What we hold is not</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="color: white;">. . . . .</span>what we think we hold.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
The plum is not the still point </div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="color: white;">. . . . .</span>at the center</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
around which anything dances;</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the plum itself is all dance, </div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="color: white;">. . . . .</span>only dance, </div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: white; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
. . . . . . . . . .<span style="color: #333333;">everywhere.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
What I hold is the flow of water</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
in the nerves of my palm.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/24:</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<b>Small Song: Transplantation</b></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
As I fill the clay urn,</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
I sink my fingers </div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
into sun-warmed potting soil --</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
moist, dark, vital.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Were I the thyme to be replanted,</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
I would stretch my roots</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
deep into this receptivity</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
and shake my leaves</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
to free their fragrant joy.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
4/25:</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<b>Small Song: Select</b></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
If you were a fruit, you'd be a black plum,</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
compact and plumply curved all around,</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
dark flesh undershot by the deepest of fiery hues.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
If I were a fruiterer, I couldn't keep my mouth off you.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
4/26:</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<b>Small Song: Effect</b></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
The topmost sliver of the sun</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
peers cautiously through the green tangle</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of the grass, making sure </div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
no one's around to glimpse </div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
how laboriously its orb lifts itself</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
free of the grasping dark; were the strain</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of its efforts visible, the wonder</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of its rising might be lessened.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
4/27:</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<b>Small Song: Interrogatory</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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The old boat, faded with years,</div>
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nudges against the lake's edge</div>
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where I walk by. Perched on the stern,</div>
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the crow glistens in the late sun,</div>
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its eyes fixed on me, and caws</div>
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once roughly to get my attention.</div>
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No believer in omens and augury,</div>
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I still can't help but wonder</div>
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in some primitive clutch of braincells,</div>
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"Have you come for me?"</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/28:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Small Song: Contender</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Heavy rain pummels the wisteria clusters,</div>
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obviously training for a title bout.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/29:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Small Song: Constellated</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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I drape you with Cherokee roses;</div>
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your dark skin ignites them, </div>
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fiery as the stars of Orion's Belt. </div>
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You are my night sky. Cover me.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/30:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Small Song: Celebration</b></div>
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<i>for Lisa</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Winter storms have lost their chill;</div>
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now showers warm, wake, rouse.</div>
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Here at the year's hinge, spring opens;</div>
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we stand on the edge of May, </div>
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the threshhold of possibilities. </div>
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Here is my hand; come with me, </div>
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and, bodies golden with new pollen, </div>
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we will dance naked in the rain.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-42461144417727382392013-04-06T16:23:00.000-04:002013-04-06T16:27:06.675-04:00Poems March 2013<br />
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(This group is comprised of lunes lx through xl.)</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/1: "Lune lx"</div>
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<br /></div>
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My fingers pluck brisk</div>
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staccato</div>
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shivers from your skin.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/2: "Lune lxi"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Your golden circlet</div>
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gleams warmly</div>
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from your brown ankle.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/3: "Lune lxii"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Your temples are brushed</div>
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lightly gray;</div>
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there, I kiss our years.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/4: "Lune lxiii"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Disheartened by frost,</div>
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too-early</div>
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cherry blossoms rust.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/5: "Lune lxiv"</div>
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<br /></div>
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The curve of your arm</div>
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on my waist</div>
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eases the world's weight.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/6: Lune lxv"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Light reverberates</div>
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within ice</div>
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March hangs from the eaves.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/7: "Lune lxi"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Brushed, you, mimosa-</div>
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sensitive,</div>
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curl about my touch.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/8: "Lune lxvii"</div>
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<br /></div>
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The brown of your eyes</div>
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draws me down</div>
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to your center's heat.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/9: "Lune lxviii"</div>
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<br /></div>
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February leaves</div>
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one last gift:</div>
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a frozen sparrow.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/10: "Lune lxix"</div>
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<br /></div>
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The scent of lentils</div>
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with cumin</div>
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and mint fills our home.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/11: "Lune lxx"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Ripe peach juice trickles</div>
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from your chin;</div>
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I lick your breasts clean.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/12: "Lune lxxi"</div>
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<br /></div>
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This tussle of bee</div>
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and blossom,</div>
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this season of seed.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/13: "Lune lxxii"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Filled with flowering</div>
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quince, your arms</div>
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bring light to this room.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/14: "Lune lxxiii"</div>
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<br /></div>
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The shadows of crows</div>
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cannot dim</div>
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the hue of the rose.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/15: "Lune lxxiv"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Gold frost on the car:</div>
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premature</div>
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pollenization.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/16: "Lune lxxv"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Pita, with zaatar,</div>
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black coffee,</div>
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blood oranges: Brunch.</div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/17: Lune lxxvi"</div>
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<br /></div>
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The slow gray of rain</div>
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lengthens our</div>
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morning's lassitude.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/18: "Lune lxxvii"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Fourteen thousand feet --</div>
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out the door --</div>
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soaring in free fall --</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/19: "Lune lxxviii"</div>
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<br /></div>
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I hollow my heart</div>
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to make room</div>
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for your ripe spices.</div>
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* * *</div>
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3/20: "Lune lxxix"</div>
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How eloquently</div>
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shrill the crow's</div>
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contention with time.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/21: "Lune lxxx"</div>
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<br /></div>
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March-returned swallows</div>
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refurbish</div>
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homes beneath the bridge.</div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/22: "Lune lxxxi"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Wisteria's first</div>
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racemes fling</div>
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bee-nets of fragrance.</div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/23: "Lune lxxxii"</div>
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The slow sway of your</div>
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heavy braid</div>
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measures out my days.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/24: "Lune lxxxiii"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Just-baked gingerbread</div>
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warms the house</div>
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and moistens the tongue.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/25: "Lune lxxxiv"</div>
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<br /></div>
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The weight of your breast</div>
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in my palm</div>
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eases the world's ache.</div>
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<br /></div>
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(NOTE: Thanks to Lisa </div>
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Toops Smith for this idea.)</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/26: "Lune lxxxv"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Frost sparks as the pines</div>
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toss shifting</div>
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light through their needles.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/27: "Lune lxxxvi"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Catfish gather in</div>
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the shallows</div>
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to worship the sun.</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/28: "Lune lxxxvii"</div>
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<br /></div>
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The carpenter bee's</div>
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hollow hum</div>
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drifts from the eave's edge.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/29: "Lune lxxxviii: Wangari Maathai, 1940 - 2011"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Forty million trees</div>
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shout their green</div>
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over Africa.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/30: "Lune lxxxix"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Figs and fontina,</div>
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crusty bread</div>
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and chianti: Noon.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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3/31: "Lune xc"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Fingers intertwined,</div>
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we hold each</div>
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other, and the world.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-47580737839160662442013-02-28T23:42:00.001-05:002013-02-28T23:42:27.282-05:00Poems February 2013<br />
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Poems for February 2013</div>
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("Lunes xxxii - lix" +</div>
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one "Small Song")</div>
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<br /></div>
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2/1: "Lune xxxii: Columbia at 10"</div>
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<br /></div>
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A streak of fire ends</div>
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in Texas;</div>
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seven, remembered.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/2: "Lune xxxiii"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Flung stones skim the lake</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
where none sink;</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
ice sings at their touch.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/3: " Lune xxxiv"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
The moons of your breasts</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
disperse my</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
profoundest nightfalls.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/4: "Lune xxxv"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Chill sunlight hardens</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the pond's edge</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
to rough translucence.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/5: "Lune xxxvi"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Your cinnamon skin</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
simmers hot</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
ad sweet on my lips.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/6: "Lune xxxvii"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Vanguard snowdrops lift</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
bells against</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
winter's salient.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/7: "Lune xxxviii"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Above thick cloud fields,</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the sun hoards</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
its heat for August.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/8: "Lune xxxix"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
O fiery cornhusked </div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
tamale,</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
eager to be shucked!</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/9: "Lune xl"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Lurking sweetgum balls</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
sabotage</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
spring's first barefoot walk.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/10: "Lune xli"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
The faint clicks of beads</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
you've braided</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
in your hair bring peace.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/11: "Lune xlii"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
The st eady static</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of the rain</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
breaks for bridges.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/12: "Lune xliii"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
That worn pink bathrobe</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
still sets off</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the curves of your calves.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/13: "Lune xliv"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Your fingertips taste</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of ginger</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
and sesame oil.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/14: "Lune xlv: For Krysten"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
You are the hawk who</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
strides the sky</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
and never falters.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/15: "Lune xlvi"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
I enfold the warmth</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of your breast</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
as seeds embrace May.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/16: "Lune xlvii"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
A jay dislodges</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
fragrant rain</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
from a cedar bough.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/17: "Lune xlviii"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Cold as cats' noses,</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
your toes press</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
against my bare feet.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/18: "Lune xlix"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Flashing yellows wink</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
through brown stems</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of forsythia.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/19: "Lune l"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Always I'm caught by</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
how your hands</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
move about the world.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/20: "Lune li"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Side by side we breathe,</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
still after </div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the sharing of selves.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/21: "Lune lii"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Noon's weight presses down</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
on my eyes;</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
I'll rest them just one -- -- --</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * * </div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/22: "Lune liii"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
My rain-frizzed love, how</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
unperturbed</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
your insouciance.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
2/23: "Lune liv"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
The python tattooed</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
on your thigh</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
entwines me smoothly.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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2/24: "Lune lv"</div>
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As ever with you,</div>
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I'd rather</div>
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take the scenic route.</div>
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(NOTE: Suggested by the title of</div>
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Nikki Giovanni's poem "The Scenic Route")</div>
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* * *</div>
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2/25: "Lune lvi"</div>
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Morning's numbed light seeps</div>
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through these clouds,</div>
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outweighed by cold rain.</div>
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* * *</div>
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2/26: "Lune lvii"</div>
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Your lips are deft moths</div>
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playfully</div>
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flitting over me.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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2/27: "Lune lviii"</div>
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Currants and cream fill</div>
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your navel,</div>
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a feast for my tongue.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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2/28(a): "Small Song: Vespers"</div>
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I thrill to the creases and folds of your form,</div>
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to the undulant abundance of your abdomen.</div>
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Your breasts sink comfortably down your chest,</div>
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and the curves at the corners of your mouth </div>
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are cups that hold more kisses than I can count.</div>
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Your body has been joyously lived in and wears it</div>
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like a beacon that draws me out of the dark</div>
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to the warmth and repose of home.</div>
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* * *</div>
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2/28(b): "Lune lix"</div>
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The warmth of your hand</div>
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suffices</div>
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as the sun descends.</div>
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* * *</div>
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* * *</div>
Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-60379760216012276362013-02-09T16:53:00.001-05:002013-02-28T23:45:23.647-05:00Poems for January 2013("Lunes i - xxxi +<br />
one "Small Song")<br />
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(<b>NOTE</b>: Lunes iii through xvi comprise</div>
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the sequence <i>Presences</i> although</div>
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the final order will be quite different.)</div>
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1/1: "Lune i"</div>
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Chill whispers of rain</div>
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stir the pines</div>
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into slight motion.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/2: "Lune ii"</div>
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I've tattooed your name</div>
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on my lips; </div>
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your taste goes with me.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/3: "Lune iii"</div>
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Black braids brush my face</div>
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as you sway</div>
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above me in joy.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/4: "Lune iv"</div>
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Baptismal sweat beads</div>
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the valley </div>
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of your breasts with light.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/5: "Lune v"</div>
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The curves of your hips</div>
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shimmer through</div>
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the cirrus of silk.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/6: "Lune vi"</div>
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Sun woman, your touch</div>
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causes me</div>
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to break into bloom.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/7: "Lune vii"</div>
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I follow the scent</div>
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of mango</div>
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to your moist center.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/8: "Lune viii"</div>
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Your coiled pubic hair</div>
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tangles my</div>
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tongue like matted thyme.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/9: "Lune ix"</div>
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The black cherries of</div>
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your nipples</div>
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swell; my lips sweeten.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/10: "Lune x"</div>
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Beige satin, the backs</div>
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of your knees</div>
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tremble with my kiss.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/11: "Lune xi"</div>
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I ache for no home</div>
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but the brown</div>
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mound of your belly.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/12: "Lune xii"</div>
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The umber folds of</div>
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your navel</div>
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invite me deeper.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/13: "Lune xiii"</div>
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The surge of your thighs</div>
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thrusts us up</div>
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to burst among stars.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/14: "Lune xiv"</div>
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The catches in your</div>
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breath trace my</div>
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fingers' passage down.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/15: "Lune xv"</div>
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All the hinges of</div>
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your body</div>
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open for us both.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/16: "Lune xvi"</div>
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Your hand folds over</div>
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mine as I</div>
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cup you afterward.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/17: "Lune xvii: January"</div>
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The hot water takes</div>
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too long to</div>
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reach the shower head.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/18: "Lune xviii"</div>
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Morning frost sings and</div>
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curls away</div>
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from the scraper's blade.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/19: "Lune xix"</div>
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Feathers of light brush</div>
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snow-freighted</div>
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pines with nascent peach.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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1/20: "Lune xx"</div>
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Your black hair mirrors</div>
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in shimmers</div>
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August's waxing moon.</div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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1/21: "Lune xxi"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Your fingers whisper</div>
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in silence,</div>
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your touch rich with Braille.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/22: "Lune xxii"</div>
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The cat, stepping in</div>
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a patch of</div>
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moonlight, shakes her paw.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/23: "Lune xxiii"</div>
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The whisper of your</div>
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hairbrush calls</div>
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the hour of compline.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/24: "Lune xxiv"</div>
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The windflower sways</div>
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but never </div>
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spills the sun it cups.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/25: "Lune xxv"</div>
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The ache of the cold</div>
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seeps within:</div>
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bending, I will break.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/26: "Lune xxvi"</div>
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The iris angles</div>
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from its vase,</div>
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a shout of purple.</div>
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* * *</div>
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1/27(a): "Small Song: Matins"</div>
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Sipping Starbucks lattes,</div>
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they stare, intent,</div>
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at their laptop</div>
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where the preacher</div>
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chides his flock.</div>
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- - -</div>
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1/27(b): "Lune xxvii"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Two gulls blown inland</div>
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skim the closed</div>
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strip mall, candescent.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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1/28: "Lune xxviii"</div>
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<br /></div>
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The scent of burning</div>
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pine lingers</div>
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beyonds the ashes.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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1/29: "Lune xxix"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Crumpled bumpers droop</div>
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and dangle,</div>
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hampering morning.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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1/30: "Lune xxx"</div>
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<br /></div>
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The pin oak sapling</div>
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wraps itself</div>
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split plastic sacks.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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1/31: "Lune xxxi"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Melon-ripe, your hips</div>
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rumba all</div>
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around the kitchen.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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* * *</div>
Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-67412441972244994252012-09-17T23:07:00.002-04:002012-09-17T23:08:01.447-04:00May 2012 "Small Songs"<br />
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* * *</div>
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5/1</div>
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"Small Song: Shreds"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Damp matted leaves, dark and tattered, </div>
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litter the path. No wind stirs them</div>
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into motion or music. Chill rains</div>
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erode them. A few cling to my shoes,</div>
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fragments of an almost forgotten year.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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5/2</div>
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"Small Song: Humidity"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Thick air oppresses night,</div>
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muffles the squirks </div>
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of the spring peepers;</div>
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only the brightest stars</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
chisel their way through the murk,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
and the moon rusts on the horizon.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
One stirs with the reluctance</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of a wet flag in a faint breeze.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/3</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Emulation"</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
The autumn maple stands glorious,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
dark scarlet leaves molded to its base,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
its empty branches lifted to the sky.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
In tribute, you stand with open arms,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
your feet in brilliant red stilleto heels,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the rest as bare as desire intends.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/4</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Navigation"</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Begin here with dawn washed</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
in rosemary, clean and astringent.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Progress to the vast expanse of noon</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
steeped in sun-urged honeysuckle.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Arrive at last where jasmine fills the air</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
with the attar of a thousand sweet stars.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/5</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Ache"</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Even now, when I listen to Chopin,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
my forearm muscles strain and</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
my fingers twitch, stiff and slow,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
with forty years' memory of having</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
sought some clumsy dexterity</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
where Horowitz never faltered.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * * </div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/6</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Chance"</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Some days one can't distinguish</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
between the lake and the sky;</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
they merge in a blur of gray, </div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
uncertain themselves of</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
rigorous boundaries. Such days</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
would seem ideal to be a flat stone</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
and hurl oneself out to skip</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
again and again and, perhaps,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
to have, just this once, the possibility</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of not sinking irretrievable </div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
into the depths at the end.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/7</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<b>Small Song: Chance</b></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Some days one can't distinguish</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
between the lake and the sky;</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
they merge in a blur of gray, </div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
uncertain themselves of</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
rigorous boundaries. Such days</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
would seem ideal to be a flat stone</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
and hurl oneself out to skip</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
again and again and, perhaps,</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
to have, just this once, the possibility</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of not sinking irretrievable </div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
into the depths at the end.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/8</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<b>Small Song: Orison</b></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
What do the leaves of the birch</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
know of failure? A morning</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of dense mist, an afternoon</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
heavy with storm, an evening's</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
obscured light. Perhaps</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
that's why they whisper to the wind</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: white; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
. . . . <span style="color: #333333;"><i>sun</i></span><i> . . . </i><span style="color: #333333;"><i>sun</i></span><i> . . . </i><span style="color: #333333;"><i>sun</i></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<i></i><br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<i>* * *</i></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<i></i><br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<i>5/9</i></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<b>Small Song: Knife</b></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
I peel the bronze skin from the Bosc,</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
then cut thin, translucent slices</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
which I place, flesh-warm and moist,</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
between your open lips. </div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="color: white;">. . . . . .</span>With each movement, I pare</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
away the distance that makes us two.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/10</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<b>Small Song: Indignity</b></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
After the rain, </div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the dandelions droop,</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the prim white globes </div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of their heads</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
as matted as wet cats.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/11</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<b>Small Song: Hardcase</b></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Sharp-leaved, stiff-stalked thistle </div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
claims the railway embankment</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
as its place -- dense, dry earth</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
from which it wrestles life.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
This spread of purple blooms</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
seems innocuous, but only</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
hot, thick fumes of diesel-electrics</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
rock them in their sleep.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/12</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<b>Small Song: Ornament</b></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
The concrete frog squats among</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the stems of flowering toadflax;</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
its smooth gray arc anchors the eye</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
amid the flurry of curves, the rococo</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
corollas of yellow motion.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: white; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . <span style="color: #333333;">How readily</span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the simple calms the complex.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/13</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Performance"</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Gladiola, tall and taut green,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
you open your blouse</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
button by slow button</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
to reveal your splendors;</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
I wish to be a hummingbird</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
to burrow in your blossoms</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
and lap your nectar.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/13</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<b>Small Song: Renewal</b></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Gray-white cloud covers the sky like limestone;</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
not even a blurred brightness localizes the sun.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Wet pavement dulls the reflections further,</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
just sheets of bleached lichen. Damp air</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
dims color, mutes highlights. The absence</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of bright intensity soothes, sustains in its own right.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/14</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Poem"</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Sometimes you feel that you</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
just have to ask the poem,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Exactly what is it you're up to?</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
You're supposed to be wearing</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
cool white linen with iridescent </div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
dragonflies at throat and wrist,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
strolling through the herb garden</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
just after dawn and brushing</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
dew-rich lavender thyme to loose its scent.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Instead, there you are in overalls</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
and dirty boots traipsing across</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
a plowed, muddy field heading</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
for the one island of blackberry canes</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
and old man's beard with an abandoned</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
1961 Chevy Fleetwood C10 pickup</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
rusting square in the middle (how </div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
did that get here?) and whatever are</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
you doing out here anyway?"</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
But really of course you know there's no use</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
asking because you're not going to get </div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
an answer until the poem's good and ready,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
so there's nothing more to do but tag along</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
and see what happens on the off-chance that</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
50 year old truck actually starts up and spins off</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
and takes you and the poem somewhere you never</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
would have imagined if left entirely on your own.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/15</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Guide"</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Mist frosts the night sky</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
to a directionless blur</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
except where Sirius </div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
leaks through:</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
a single porch light </div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
to mark home.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/16</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Preserves"</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
The sun casually reclined across</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the breakfast table, loosing sparks</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
from the assorted jelly and jam jars</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
gathered in the center. Inspired, I took</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the orange marmelade and slathered it</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
over you as if you were an oven-hot</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
English muffin awaiting adornment; </div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
then we began to feast.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
I kept some</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of the crumbs we left behind; occasionally</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
I'll nibble one, for the sake of sun and</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
oranges and you.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/17</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Source"</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Earth-cold, water flows from the dark,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
spills over tumbled rock at the cave mouth</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
through tangles of sun and shade, then into</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
channeled bedrock; it surges down</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the long, slow bones of the mountain,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
suffused with light and a faint tang of cedar</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
no descent however sheer can fully undo.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/18</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Display"</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Everything engages in spring's showiness,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
even the abandoned cars in the pine scrub</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
off Pea Ridge Road. Swirls of pollen veil</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
their broad surfaces, cracked paint flakes</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
from metal rust reddens, and blackberry canes</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
wreathe through missing windows so that</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
white petals gleam out of the shadows.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/19</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Reclamation"</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Bit by bit, with each frost-scorched rose,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
each mildew-spotted elm leaf,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
each storm-thrown peach,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
I reclaim what is mine</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
from the indifference of time.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/20</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Duellists"</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Two weather-weakened brick chimneys</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
seconded by scraggly, overgrown roses</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
face off on the edge of an abandoned farm,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
whatever was once between them long forgotten.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/21</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Propitious"</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
The most auspicious doors are those</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
with some trace of failure: splintered</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
veneer along the foot, a rattling knob</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
which wobbles to the touch, blistered </div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
paint peeled away from cracked wood.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Their days of hindrance crumble away.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/22</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Drowsed"</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
The sun is heavy with honeysuckle.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Yellow-bellied sliders line the fallen oak</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
by the bank, motionless in late morning.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
No damselflies dart over the water, sheltering</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
in shadows. Only a pair of cabbage whites</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
jink and wheel silently, absorbed in each other.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/23</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Strays"</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Clusters of wild carrot fill the ditch</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
across the field. Moonlight glows</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
on the flowerheads which the wind</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
sways and dips into and out of sight,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
random thoughts flickering through night's mind.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/24</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Delivery"</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Letting go proceeds best</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
from a high location, a ledge</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
with a view of vast volumes of air.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
The ascent by its difficulties prepares</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
one for what follows, as the descent</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
will heal in its finality. </div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
From the edge,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the released ascends or falls entirely</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of its own nature, that burden of choice</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
now no longer yours.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/25</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Byproducts"</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
A chipmunk, cheeks bloated</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
with nuts and seeds I'd put out</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
for the birds, hightails it through</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the herb bed, releasing a spasm</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of mint, a billow, an intoxication;</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
even the drizzle sweetens.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/26</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Waken"</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
The crisp thicket</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of your pubic hair</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
entangles the sun.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Lustrous with light,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
lush tendrils and coils</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
glisten, warm, rouse.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/27</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Intent"</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
The bulges of the willows</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
edge the river like elephants,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
heavy in the dark </div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
with expectations of morning.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/28</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Wish"</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
I want to be caught in a rainstorm</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
with you, drenched to the skin</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
with the truth of mutual need,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the downpour driving us past</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
walls of words to move together,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
sheltering, each of us, chosen.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/29</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Port"</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Dutch irises fix </div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
their anchors in the air,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
docking at the sun</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
after their chill voyages</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
through the earth.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/30</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Invitation"</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Some days, usually about mid-afternoon,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
conscience pushes his chair back and says,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"You as tired of thinking as me? There's</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
some really sweet catfish down in the river,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the tackle's already in the truck, and a few</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
beers in the cooler. Interested?" And,</div>
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though I'm not much for fishing and</div>
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don't really like beer, whatever could</div>
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possibly lead me to say "No"?</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
5/31</div>
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"Small Song: Fanfare"</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
The crape myrtles have just burst</div>
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into the most intense of fuschias;</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 13.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
that must be June at the door.</div>
Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-22599175374084034502012-07-07T11:13:00.004-04:002012-07-07T11:13:40.989-04:00Small Songs: NaPo April 2012 (Temporary Storage)<br />
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4/1</div>
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"Small Song: Dirge"</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
What words for the end?</div>
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What words for the wind</div>
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to lift along the hills</div>
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with my dust? Just these few:</div>
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seed bud fruit</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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4/2</div>
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"Small Song: Study"</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
This ecru saucer has a smooth face</div>
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with a slightly raised and rounded edge,</div>
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a thin coral band just within the rim.</div>
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Two black Mission figs stand together</div>
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beyond the center, while a third, split open,</div>
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lies before them, its coral heart variegated</div>
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with ecru seeds. There is no significance</div>
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to this arrangement, no weighty burden </div>
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of symbolic freight; there is only this pattern </div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
someone thought lovely.</div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
4/3</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Fete"</div>
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Tonight I would celebrate</div>
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the too-little observed of your body:</div>
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the pulse-stirred flesh behind your knees,</div>
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the warm curves of the undersides </div>
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of your breasts, and, last, </div>
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the shadowed cup at the base </div>
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of your spine which I will fill</div>
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with quivering kisses to play like koi</div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
4/4</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Limits"</div>
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<br /></div>
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t seems my toes are always peeping</div>
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up at me around the bulge of my belt;</div>
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even when they're shod and shifting out of sight</div>
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and back again during a not-too-brisk walk,</div>
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I remain aware of their constant scrutiny. </div>
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On certain occasions, when they're bare</div>
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in yoga class, I try to return the favor</div>
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with a close inspection that rarely succeeds.</div>
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Still, I'm glad for their attentiveness</div>
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to the periphery of things because it clarifies</div>
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just how much of the world is me.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
4/5</div>
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"Small Song: Ends"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Scruffy brown and battered, the abandoned sofa</div>
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next to the county dumpster leaks stuffing</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
as disconsolately as last year's cattails</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
shed ragged clumps of seed in the rain.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 13.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
4/6</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Caregiver"</div>
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<br /></div>
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Green treefrogs cling to the drapes,</div>
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dozing until dusk; gopher frogs</div>
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hole up under the couch and chairs,</div>
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while spring peepers bunch in the pantry,</div>
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preparing their chorale for the evening.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Bullfrogs wade through bathtub shallows,</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
avoiding a knot of drowsing eastern toads.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Crazy frog lady, who else would take in </div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
all these princes no one ever kissed?</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
4/7</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Pruning"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
This cutting, this casting aside</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of all that's farthest from the heartwood,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the peripheral, the tangential, </div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
lightens the core for the lift into spring.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
4/8</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Unexpected"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Elegant silver-gray lady,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
cool and slender beneath</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the crepe myrtles at noon,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
who would have anticipated</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
that floppy, bright magenta hat</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
you've just revealed, rose campion, </div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
as if you'll be off for some </div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
hot jazz and warm bourbon</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
once evening comes?</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
4/9</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Artifact"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
The moon blurs behind thin cloud,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
an ancient coin worn beyond reading,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
its silence tangible as its cold weight.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
4/10</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Small Song: Carr"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Pale twirls of mist lift in early light</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
over the bog pools, tussock sedges</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
raise new green over the dun mats</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of last year's growth, young willows hang</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
motionless in still air, bronze-brown water</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
ruffles slightly with a striped newt's passage,</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
and, over all, the shadow of the heron, </div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
long with dawn and silent, strikes.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; line-height: 16.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<br /></div>
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NOTE: "carr" is a succession stage from an area originally flooded with fresh water in transition to a forested area; it's denoted by bog terrain and the beginnings of forestation.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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4/11</div>
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"Small Song: Reclaimed"</div>
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<br /></div>
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The black plum tree writhes and contorts</div>
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as if it sucks agony from the earth;</div>
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drop by drop, passing through </div>
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the twisted living limbs, pain transfigures</div>
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to the sweet heart's fire of its fruit.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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4/12</div>
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"Small Song: Rite"</div>
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for my niece, on graduating</div>
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<br /></div>
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The precipice frightens by its solitude;</div>
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empty air blazes with light that shows</div>
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no step, no hold, no simple descent.</div>
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You are no longer child, no longer girl;</div>
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you are woman. The sun beckons. Fly. </div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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4/13</div>
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<b>Small Song: Portent</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Shattered sun spatters over leaf litter,</div>
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scattered across the duff like tossed coins.</div>
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A common sulfur, strayed in from the field beyond, </div>
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flickers through shafts of bright and dim; </div>
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its yellow wings blink like a warning light.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/14</div>
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<b>Small Song: Snake</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Little flicks of rain spit onto the river; </div>
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tiny rings mingle, crazing the water's mirror.</div>
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A cottonmouth, head erect, surges undeterred</div>
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through the confusion of images, </div>
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unswerving, fixed, implacable.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/15</div>
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<b>Small Song: Enumeration</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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The sidewalk's littered with unsplit pods</div>
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of cottonwood seed; these strings</div>
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of green beads form the abacus of the unborn. </div>
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Life's profligacy terrifies.</div>
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<span style="color: #333333;">Against all this,</span></div>
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I count you <i>One</i>, transient, random,</div>
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . .<span style="color: #333333;">here.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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(NOTE: This piece was suggested by the opening lines of </div>
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Anne Simpson's "Finally" in which she refers to the </div>
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cottonwood's female pod-bearing catkin as "a rosary.")</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/16</div>
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<b>Small Song: Assuaged</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Gray evening: clouds crowd in,</div>
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blunt light's thrust, mute shadows.</div>
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Sun-sharp edges blur with this softer focus,</div>
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relinquishing day's assertion of absolutes.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/17</div>
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<b>Small Song: Harvest</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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The long light of the afternoon</div>
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burnishes your breasts as it does</div>
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the bronze flesh of the bosc pear</div>
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you offer me, crossed-legged on our bed,</div>
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so much ripeness to fill my hands.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/18</div>
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<b>Small Song: Fundamental</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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The water strider dimples </div>
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the shallows' surface; rainbow-rimmed,</div>
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shadows move slowly across</div>
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the creek's pebbled floor, a shifting</div>
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interplay of light and dark, a small world</div>
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defined by difference always in motion. </div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/19</div>
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<b>Small Song: Transmutation</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Now comes the hour of the leaf.</div>
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Cherry, dogwood, wisteria</div>
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shed their petals and resort</div>
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to green to suckle the sun.</div>
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This is the feast of light,</div>
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the revel of abundance,</div>
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the drawing within and </div>
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transformation into self </div>
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of some small portion </div>
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of all that lies beyond.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/20</div>
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<b>Small Song: Promethean</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Dim afternoon submerges into evening;</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
the walls of this room recede, defused </div>
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into distance, icy with absence.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Your fingers touch one lamp and free</div>
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parchment-hued light. Out of depth, clarity;</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
out of chill, warmth -- these gifts of your hand.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/21</div>
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<b>Small Song: Firewood</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Sawdust dances from the cut</div>
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as I press and pull the bowsaw</div>
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through the windstruck poplar</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
across the side of the yard.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Thirty five years it aspired to the sun.</div>
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I will not dishonor it with mechanical</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
fume or screech. My hands move slowly</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
as I prepare it to become its own pyre.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
4/22</div>
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<b>Small Song: Sustained</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Tin roof corroded, walls gray </div>
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with damp and rot, the empty shack</div>
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tilts fatally to the left, held erect only</div>
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by the artesian billow of the bridal </div>
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wreath spirea, a fountain of pure light</div>
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even near dusk's end.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/23</div>
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<b>Small Song: Ineffectual</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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One by one, the peony sheds its petals,</div>
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curved white panes which drift and swirl</div>
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on the faintest of winds. No matter how</div>
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light or brief, these flower-stirring breezes</div>
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have more force than my breathless words:</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: white; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
. . . . . . . . . .<span style="color: #333333;"><i>Stay with me.</i></span></div>
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<i></i></div>
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<i>* * *</i></div>
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<i></i></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<i>4/24</i></div>
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<b>Small Song: Ripening</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Late sun reflects from the river ripples</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
up beneath the mulberry branches,</div>
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lined with hundreds of pale green </div>
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and a few random red fruit; they glow</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
in the underlight, abundant, intense, alive.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
4/25</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<b>Small Song: Gratified</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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The willow quivers</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
as the tongue of the river</div>
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lightly flicks the tips</div>
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of its lowest leaves.</div>
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Such contentment</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
in the softly sighing rustle.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
4/26</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<b>Small Song: Anticipation</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
In the morning shadow of the sycamore,</div>
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I close my eyes and absorb the chill</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of the iron bench into my skin. I do not</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
think of you.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: white; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
. . . . . . . . . . .<span style="color: #333333;">But it's not enough.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
I still hear the swallows' chatter above the river,</div>
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honeysuckle scent spreads over my tongue,</div>
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and the memory of your breasts presses against my back.</div>
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One simply cannot practice here amid the palpable</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
for the dearth which waits.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
4/27</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<b>Small Song: Respite</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Sitting on the slightly swaybacked porch</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of the 19th century farmhouse, shadowed</div>
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by two centenarian oaks and cool even on</div>
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a warm April noon, I hear in the creaks</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of the old rocking chair the sounds of time</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
slowing down to sit awhile in the shade.</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
4/28</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<b>Small Song: Weight</b></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
A single burst of photons caught all that remains</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
of that branch of flowering crabapple, a pink blaze</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
against the whiteness of you. So small, so evanescent,</div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
how is it they carry such heaviness still?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font: 13.0px Verdana; line-height: 15.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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4/29</div>
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<b>Small Song: Game</b></div>
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The sun tosses moving shadows</div>
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from the wind-shoved cumulus</div>
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across the highway, playing hide-and-seek</div>
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with the roadside Blackeyed Susans.</div>
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* * *</div>
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4/30</div>
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<b>Small Song: Fall</b></div>
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The cooling water of the creek frees </div>
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<span style="color: white;">. . . . .</span>adult caddisflies.</div>
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Amber-winged, by day they seek refuge</div>
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among the drifts of dead leaves </div>
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<span style="color: white;">. . . . .</span>along the bank.</div>
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Dusk draws them out in their thousands,</div>
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dancers in dim light, celebrants of the last brief</div>
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<span style="color: white;">. . . . . . . . . .</span>nuptials of the year.</div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *</div>
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<br /></div>
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$/31 (!)</div>
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<b>Small Song: Joined</b></div>
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I plunge my hands into fresh-turned earth</div>
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to find your warmth, the soft rich weight </div>
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of your flesh, the moisture of your body's springs --</div>
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what sustains, what gives and receives all that lives.</div>
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I will plant myself deep within your substance</div>
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that we may rise and flower, one.</div>
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<br /></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-76438012396290148382012-03-12T16:07:00.004-04:002012-04-01T00:33:18.836-04:00"Small Songs" -- March 2012 (Temporary Storage)<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial; min-height: 14.0px">3/1</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Midnight"<br /><br />Although the storm's gone by,<br />the tree frogs remain silent.<br />Nothing sounds but a thin drip<br />from the eaves. The moon's<br />still just an inconsequential blur.<br />The world would seem a void<br />were it not for the burst of scent,<br />rich and sweet, from the tea olive,<br />passionate in its rare March blooming.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/2</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Lost"<br /><br />A few thin firefly luminescences<br />thread disparately through the Johnsongrass,<br />final desperate messages blurred to incoherence<br />by the rising chill of autumn mists.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/3</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Wintering"<br /><br />Brown and split, trumpet vine pods<br />sway slightly with the wind,<br />a flotilla of gondolas suspended<br />by their bows awaiting the spring floods.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/4</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Ember"<br />(For <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002892854260"><span style="color:#3b5997;">Jackie Shough Garbarino</span></a>, who asked for a snow poem)<br /><br />At sunrise, the branches<br />of the water oak<br />stretch out the shadows<br />of their fingers, blue with cold,<br />across the snow towards<br />the fading spark of Mars.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/5</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Metaphysical"<br /><br />A haze of rain obscures the pond.<br />Shifting verticals of silver, beige, and gray<br />blur surface, shore, certainty.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/6</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Ornaments"<br /><br />Suspended from the purple tubes<br />of the chinaberry blooms,<br />hummingbirds flicker and flame<br />in the sun that breaks through<br />the afternoon rain.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/7</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Chorines"<br /><br />Catkins cluster on the branches of the pecan.<br />They lift on this brisk wind,<br />Rockettes kicking high into spring.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/8</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Joinery"<br /><br />Mounds of discarded gourds<br />mottled black and gray with mold<br />rise behind the empty workshop,<br />held together by the thin stems<br />and white bells of bindweed</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/9</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Library"<br /><br />Riven and curled in layers,<br />scrolls of riverbirch bark<br />record the momentary,<br />hold, perishing, only<br />notes on the inconsequential</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/10</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Vibration"<br /><br />O buzz! O thrum!<br />That bumble of thrust,<br />that jiggle of hum,<br />that bee that throbs<br />the secret center<br />of the jonquil<br />alive with quiver<br />and spasm.<br /><br />(Suggested by Lorna Dee Cervantes' </p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"100 Words to Vibrate You" from "Ciento")</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/11</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Compensatory"<br /><br />Late frost and drought<br />have forestalled the clover's blooms;<br />no mouse-ear sized white balls of blossom<br />constellate the grass beneath the sweetgums.<br />Under the hanging feeders, though,<br />white daubs of songbird poop<br />look much the same if I<br />take off my glasses.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/12</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Landfall"<br /><br />Your dark hair streams down your back<br />luxuriant and heavy as kelp,<br />damp with the sweat<br />that bonds us face to face.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 12.0px Arial; min-height: 14.0px"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial">3/13:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Practice"<br /><br />The bronze wings of boxelder seeds<br />rustle softly as they sway from the branches,<br />rehearsing dispersal with the breeze.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial">3/14:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Cyclists"<br /><br />Strung out in a long, thin line<br />at the edge of the country road,<br />all alike in black with shiny heads,<br />their bodies bent and legs churning --<br />ants on wheels, scurrying in file<br />back to the nest before the last light dies.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial">3/15:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Palimpsest"<br /><br />Slight rain slicks the pavement, stirs<br />pollen dropped from roadside pines.<br />Random rivulets scribe hieroglyphs,<br />dark threads through yellow, unread<br />before scoured away.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial">3/16:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Premature"<br /><br />Warm March rain nurtures early blooms;<br />tiny and delicate, the transparent petals<br />of mosquito wings open, to great annoyance.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial">3/17:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Held"<br /><br />The storm of the rose swirls<br />about its center, motionless,<br />passion sustained in suspension<br />awaiting the release of your touch.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial">3/18:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">Small Song: Divination"<br /><br />As all's uncertain risk,<br />I cast above you a tuft<br />of seeded milkweed silk<br />to resolve that sweet dilemma:<br />which breast should I taste first?</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial">3/19:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Departure"<br /><br />To slip away as simply<br />as a freed cherry petal,<br />to drift through light<br />like cottonwood silk,<br />to lie quietly along the earth<br />as the willow's shadow on water.</p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/20:</p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px; ">"Small Song: Search"<br /><br />Three winter-blackened weeds anchor<br />a close-woven cup of spider silk,<br />metallic with morning moisture --<br />a tiny Arecibo seeking life nearby.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14px; "><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/21:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Solo"<br /><br />Dispersing clouds slip across the moon,<br />its light a shifting tremolo<br />on the rain-hushed field beneath.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; min-height: 13.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/22:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Rib"<br /><br />I want to be a sparerib;<br />I'll bathe myself in the richest<br />of fragrant marinades, braise myself<br />to succulent toothfulness in red wine,<br />then leap into your hands<br />in anticipation of your pulling<br />my flesh from this bone<br />to join with yours.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; min-height: 13.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/23:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Value"<br /><br />This sky, dull in indistinguishable tones<br />of gray, appears to be a factory reject;<br />not even the ragged edging of spent wisteria<br />adds anything of obvious worth.<br />Cherish it for its bland astringency<br />on the tongue.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; min-height: 13.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/24:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Vigil"<br /><br />A weathered rocking chair rests<br />on the embankment over the railroad track.<br />A spill of Cherokee roses fills its lap.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; min-height: 13.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/25:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Sign"<br /><br />The descending moon rests its chin<br />on the hill just long enough<br />for its thin-lipped Cheshire grin<br />to stir uncertainties.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; min-height: 13.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/26:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Meditation"<br /><br />In the sanctuary of the squash blossom,<br />the bee chants her mantra of hum,<br />seeking beyond the self the truth<br />of nectar, of pollen,<br />of continuity's perpetual renewal</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; min-height: 13.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/27:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Checklist"<br />(For Melissa and April, who<br />want to become gypsies)<br /><br />The bells of your ankles<br />sing your lithe steps.<br />Copper firelights shimmer<br />in your hair's dark sway.<br />Your navels are deep, warm mysteries.<br />You are ready. Go.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; min-height: 13.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/28:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Worn"<br /><br />The late afternoon light tugs<br />the hems of its bedraggled skirts<br />across yesterday's mudpuddles,<br />plodding heavily toward evening.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; min-height: 13.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/29:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Still"<br />(In Memoriam: Earl Scruggs<br />January 6, 1924 - March 28, 2012)<br /><br />The plucked strings<br />cease to move.<br />The hills refuse<br />to end the echoes.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande; min-height: 13.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">3/30:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Fertility"<br /><br />"I am a field lying fallow."<br />-- "Field," Laura Lush<br /><br />There is no full cessation;<br />even now I nurture the needless,<br />the inconsequential, the ignored:<br />quackgrass, spurges, dock, redtop,<br />pepperweed, brome -- these children<br />of the random wind who come to me<br />to find a place to be beneath the sun.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial">3/31:</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Enriched"<br /><br />The whisper of rain --<br />after absent months --<br />silvers the night<br />as would the moon.</p><p></p><p></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p>Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-44230586253940064932012-03-12T16:04:00.000-04:002012-03-12T16:06:20.452-04:00"Small Songs" -- February 2012 (Temporary Storage)<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial">2/1</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Diminishment"<br /><br />The failing moon sinks beyond white pines.<br />Needles cross its face, tracing paths of erasure,<br />a web of fracturing that lessens its light<br />to an archipelago of sparks.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/2</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Riverlight"<br /><br />Wind-scurf roughens the river,<br />its murky olive brightened<br />with lacework light,<br />the shadow of a swerving hawk<br />a momentary mute.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/3</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Caress"<br /><br />Refracted through slow ripples,<br />slim fingers of light<br />brush the rounded stone.<br />Not even the whisper of water<br />disrupts the intimacy of the act.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/4</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Fanfare"<br /><br />In glissandi of falling light,<br />forsythia trumpets "Yellow!"</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/5</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Winterbloom"<br /><br />Flat four-petalled flowers dried to fragility<br />cluster like a cloud of faint beige butterflies<br />about the end of a hydrangea stem.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/6</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Exit Ramp"<br /><br />A loose queue of English plantains,<br />oval heads surrounded by wispy white halos,<br />brush against the galvanized gray sky<br />of the guard rail, a procession of minor saints<br />nodding in the wake of passing cars.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/7</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Remnants"<br /><br />A few dried stalks of switchgrass<br />lean together like old gossips<br />sharing confidences to the end.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/8</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Perspective"<br /><br />From here, one cannot tell<br />if three holly berries<br />have fallen into the snow<br />or three drops of blood.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/9</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Allure"<br /><br />Three flush-cheeked Forelles,<br />freckled and taut to the touch,<br />vie for my attention<br />with the pale, ripe Mosel<br />and the firm wedge of Stilton<br />blue-veined as your breast.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/10</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Eschaton"<br /><br />Heavy in April air,<br />two turkey vultures circle slowly<br />over the deserted church.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/11</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Foreplay"<br /><br />Garlic sizzles ecstatically<br />in chili oil, its aroma<br />fully aroused by that hot embrace.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/12</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Resurgence"<br /><br />Like scraps of ripped silk,<br />Japanese magnolia petals hang<br />limp and beige from the tips of branches;<br />ice crusts the bird bath, mottled<br />with suspended pollen.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/13</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Rainscape"<br /><br />In damp and muted light, the bare brush stems,<br />an indecipherable tangle of grays and tans,<br />almost obscure the weathered shed<br />except where the mat of moss<br />marks the threshhold in brilliant green.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/14</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Release"<br /><br />Freed by severing wind from the weight<br />of disregarded fruit, the arms of the pear<br />lift into light.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/15</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Ambiguity"<br /><br />At night, this cataract<br />throws rainbow-hued haloes<br />around oncoming lights:<br />beauty obscures risk.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/16</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Tangibility"<br /><br />Shadows of bare trees stripe the morning street,<br />their dark so dense I expect to bounce<br />as I drive across them, surprised as always<br />that the intensity of their presence<br />is pure absence.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/17</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Fog"<br /><br />Dense mist swathes the trees,<br />blurring their shapes like webs<br />of tent caterpillars. Sound diminishes;<br />the call of a nearby thrush<br />becomes thin, distant, and solitary.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/18</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Thunderheads"<br /><br />Bruise-hued, hydrangea heads droop<br />under the weight of rain. A wren,<br />descending to an arc of stem, dislodges<br />a tiny tempest, asperging the spiderwort below.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/19</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">"Small Song: Flux "<br /><br />Beneath the mercury streetlamp,<br />the pavement quivers with rain:<br />swift silver curves leap and flicker,<br />black-flecked with quick shadow.<br />Chiaroscuro swirls; there is only transition.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/20</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Camellia"<br /><br />A hundred rusted swirls of petals<br />circle the bush's base, funnels<br />of red frost-stricken to ruin.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/21</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Silhouettes"<br /><br />Unfallen sweetgum balls, seeds spent,<br />have darkened with rain; against the overcast,<br />they loom like empty worlds, dead suns,<br />failed Pleiades.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/22</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Duet"<br /><br />The moon shatters on the pond;<br />its riven sparks rise and fall<br />with the long, slow unwinding<br />of a distant saxophone.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/23</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Need"<br /><br />At spring's touch, the buds<br />of the cherry tree swell<br />taut and reaching, urgent<br />with their ache for release.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/24</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Essence"<br /><br />Caraway thyme yields its scent<br />as freely as you<br />when brushed by my fingers.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/25</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Exultant"<br /><br />From a crystal vase,<br />three stems of orange gladiolas<br />curve like bursting fireworks<br />over our bed.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/26</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Laundry"<br /><br />The orb weaver's web<br />strung with dew<br />quivers to the weight<br />of a thousand tiny suns,<br />last night's stars scrubbed clean<br />and hung up to dry.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/27</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Duel"<br /><br />Last October's maple leaves<br />tumble in gas-scented gusts of air<br />back across the property line<br />to where they belong because<br />my leafblower is bigger than yours.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/28</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Attrition"<br /><br />A lone Roman hyacinth<br />rises from the small bulb bed,<br />the sole remnant<br />of the squirrels' winter feast.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">2/29</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">‎"Small Song: Premonition"<br /><br />A few small popcorn puffs of white<br />have burst from the Bradford Pear;<br />against the gray blur of branches<br />and clouds at sunrise, they almost<br />fluoresce, these forerunners of the bright.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; line-height: 14.0px; font: 11.0px Lucida Grande">* * *</p>Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-84157835196012001302010-06-23T12:15:00.004-04:002010-06-23T14:28:29.529-04:00Some Summer Poems<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"><b>"High Summer"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I never wholly feel that summer is high</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">However green the trees, or loud the birds,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">However movelessly eye-winking herds</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Stand in field ponds, or under large trees lie,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Till I do climb all cultured pastures by,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">That hedged by hedgerows studiously fretted trim,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Smile like a lady's face with lace laced prim,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">And on some moor or hill that seeks the sky</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Lonely and nakedly, -- utterly lie down,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">And feel the sunshine throbbing on body and limb,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">My drowsy brain in pleasant drunkenness swim,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Each rising thought sink back and dreamily drown,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Smiles creep o'er my face, and smother my lips, and cloy,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Each muscle sink to itself, and separately enjoy.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">-- Ebenezer Jones</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"You Knew Summer By Its Fragrance"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">You knew summer by its fragrance,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">the ancient silence </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">of the wall, the frenzy of the cicadas,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">you invent the lightly bitter perpendicular</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">light, the brief shadow</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">in which a young urchin has dropped asleep,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">the luster of his shoulder blades.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">It is that that blinds you, the sunlight of the flesh.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">-- Eugenio de Andrade</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">translated from the Portuguese by Alexis Levitin</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"June"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">O month whose promise and fulfilment blend,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">And burst in one! it seems the earth can store</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">In all her roomy house no treasure more;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Of all her wealth no farthing have to spend</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">On fruit, when once this stintless flowering end.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">And yet no tiniest flower shall fall before</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">It hath made ready at its hidden core</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Its tithe of seed, which we many count and tend</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Till harvest. Joy of blossomed love, for thee</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Seems it no fairer thing can yet have birth?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">No room is left for deeper ecstacy?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Watch well if seeds grow strong, to scatter free</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Germs for thy future summers on the earth.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">A joy which is but joy soon comes to dearth.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">-- Helen Hunt Jackson</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"Early Summer Hail with Rhymes in O"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Suddenly the bush was America:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">dark woods, and in them like snow.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The highway was miles of bath house,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">bulk steam off ice shovelled over blue.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">It was parallel shoals of Mikimoto,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">glazy, banked, inching with pocked cars,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">blindsided with vans slewed on water.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Had I not stopped off to buy plants</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">just back, mine could have been similar.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">With unpredictable suns evaporating</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I drove by guess in ancestral country</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">threading the white dark of afternoon.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Hills west of hills, twigs, hail to Dubbo,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">all dunes of pursed constraint exhaling Ohh.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">-- Les Murray</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"Summer Wind"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">It is a sultry day; the sun has drank</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The dew that lay upon the morning grass,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">There is no rustling in the lofty elm</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">That canopies my dwelling, and its shade</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Scarce cools me. All is silent, save the faint</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">And interrupted murmur of the bee,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Settling on the sick flowers, and then again</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Instantly on the wing. The plants around</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Feel the too potent fervors; the tall maize</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Rolls up its long green leaves; the clover droops</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Its tender foliage, and declines its blooms.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">But far in the fierce sunshine tower the hills,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">With all their growth of woods, silent and stern,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">As if the scorching heat and dazzling light </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Were but an element they loved. Bright clouds,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Motionless pillars of the brazen heaven; --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Their bases on the mountains -- their white tops</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Shining in the far ether -- fire the air</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">With a reflected radiance, and make turn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The gazer's eye away. For me, I lie</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Languidly in the shade, where the thick turf,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Yet virgin from the kisses of the sun,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Retains some freshness, and I woo the wind</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">That still delays its coming. Why so slow,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Gentle and voluble spirit of the air?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Oh, come and breathe upon the fainting earth</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Coolness and life. Is it that in his caves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">He hears me? See, on yonder woody ridge,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The pine is bending his proud top, and now,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Among the nearer groves, chestnut and oak</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Are tossing their green boughs. He comes!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Lo, where the grassy meadow runs in waves!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The deep distressful silence of the scene</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Breaks up with mingling of unnumbered sounds</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">And universal motion. He is come,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Shaking a shower of blossoms from the shrubs,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">And bearing on the fragrance; and he brings</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Music of birds, and rustling of young boughs,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">And sound of swaying branches, and the voice</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Of distant waterfalls. All the green herbs</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Are stirring in his breath; a thousand flowers,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">By the road-side and the borders of the brook,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Nod gaily to each other; glossy leaves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Are twinkling in the sun, as if the dew</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Were on them yet, and silver waters break</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Into small waves and sparkle as he comes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">-- William Cullen Bryant</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"Summer Green"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The voluntary world is far from me</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Therefore I came here, where the woods fall down</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Pell-mell into the fields. The timber lies</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Broken and does not care, the spread leaves hold</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Like fingers, air and let it run away.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">-- C. H. Sisson</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"In July"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Why do I make no poems? Good my friend</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Now there is silence through the summer woods,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">In whose green depths and lawny solitudes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The light is dreaming; voicings clear ascend</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Now from no hollow where glad rivulets wend,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">But murmurings low of inarticulate moods,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Softer than stir of unfledged cushat broods,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Breathe, till o'erdrowsed the heavy flower-heads bend.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Now sleep the crystal and heart-charmed waves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Round white, sunstricken rocks the noontide long,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Or 'mid the coolness of dim lighted caves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Sway in a trance of vague deliciousness;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">And I, -- I am too deep in joy's excess</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">For the imperfect impulse of a song.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">--= Edward Dowden</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"Peonies at Dusk"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">White peonies blooming along the porch</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">send out light</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">while the rest of the yard grows dim.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Outrageous flowers as big as human</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">heads! They're staggered</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">by their own luxuriance; I had</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">to prop them up with stakes and twine.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The moist air intensifies their scent,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">and the moon moves around the barn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">to find out what it's coming from.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">In the darkening June evening</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I draw a blossom near, and bending close</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">search it as a woman searches</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">a loved one's face.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">-- Jane Kenyon</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"The Midday Hour of Twelve the Clock Counts O'er"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The midday hour of noon the clock counts o'er;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">A sultry stillness lulls the air asleep;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The very buzz of fly is heard no more,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Nor one faint wrinkle o'er the waters creep;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Like one large sheet of glass the pool does shine</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Reflecting in its face the burnt sun beam;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The very fish their sturting play decline,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Seeking the willow shadows side the stream,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">And where the hawthorne branches o'er the pool</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The little bird forsaking song and nest</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Flutters on dripping twigs his limbs to cool</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">And splashes in the stream his burning breast.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">O free from thunder for a sudden shower</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">To cherish nature in this noonday hour.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">-- John Clare</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"Another July"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Earth on my foot.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Bhims. Bhams. Hooplas.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Gorgeous morning cakes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Air without stripes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Under the eyes a new fragrance of shine;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Blossoms and tints at someone's doorstep</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">(Schuyler eating salami in his kitchen</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">thinking of the empty ghost of Clare,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">extending his hand with a little mayonnaise</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">toward it)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Downstreet a postbox blue as phlox.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Thus.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Some weeding. Out.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Ouch.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Earth falls on my foot</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Warm as death. Or</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">In memory of it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">-- Barbara Guest</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"A Summer Night in the Beehive"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The little bee returns with evening's gloom,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">To join her comrades in the braided hive,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Where, housed beside their mighty honeycomb,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">They dream their polity shall long survive.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Still falls the summer night -- the browsing horse</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Fills the low portal with a grassy sound</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">From the near paddock, while the water-course</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Sends them sweet murmurs from the meadow-ground;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">None but such peaceful noises break the hush,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Save Pussy, growling, in the thyme and sage,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Over the thievish mouse, in happy rage:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">At last, the flowers against the threshold brush</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">In morning airs -- fair shines the uprisen sun,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Another day of honey has begun!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">-- Charles Tennyson Turner</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"Full of Summer"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">This is the full of summer, this is all</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Bold bumblebees have always dreamed about;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">This floating is my <i>rise</i> that has no <i>fall</i>;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">This steadiness my <i>in</i> that has no <i>out</i>.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">And this my body's happiness -- the call</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Persuading me to pause deep in <i>today</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">As purple clover scents the swaying air</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Bold bumblebees have always dreamed about.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I watch more ripeness ripening the way</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">A whirling orange blur of oriole</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Blends with lake water blazing everywhere;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">A hummingbird suspended at a rose</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">As if in mimic of the sun whose flare</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Holds her eternal moment in my mind.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">This is my <i>opening</i> that has no <i>close</i>;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">This is my <i>now</i> with <i>then</i> now left behind</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">And icy wind a thought <i>thought</i> can forestall:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">This is the full of summer, this is all.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">-- Robert Pack</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"In August"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Heat urges secret odors from the grass.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Blunting the edge of silence, crickets shrill.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Wings veer: inane needles of light, and pass.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Laced pools: the warm wood-shadows ebb and fill.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The wind is casual, loitering to crush</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The sun upon his palate, and to draw</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Pungence from pine, frank fragrances from brush,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Sucked up through thin grey boughs as through a straw.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Moss-green, fern-green and leaf and meadow-green</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Are broken by the bare, bone-colored roads,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Less moved by stirring air than by unseen</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">soft-footed ants and meditative toads.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Summer is passing, taking what she brings:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Green scents and sounds, and quick ephemeral wings.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">-- Babette Deutsch</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"Once was full summer"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Once was full summer.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Down the valley blew</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">a cheesecloth wind,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">screening the curds of cloud</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">from the whey of haze.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Soon the mists burned off.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Sun sipped the dew</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">from the long grasses,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">then laid them limp with heat;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">waxing towards mid-day,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">made them sweat</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">their own juices,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">meadow-sweet.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Sun made his rounds</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">under the blue dome,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">striding his realm </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">while all afternoon</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">hills cooled facing hills</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">with their shadows.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">-- Robyn Sarah</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"Lull"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Drunken bees cling</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">and doze in the cups</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">of the rainy hollyhocks</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">and afternoon is still,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">the day a dull silver.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Summer malingers.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Soon she will drop</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">her kid gloves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">and abdicate to fall,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">but for now </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">this lull</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">is our cradle.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">-- Robyn Sarah</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">And what collection of works about summer could possibly</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> be complete without the best of all -- Gershwin's "Summertime"?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Take your pick of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIDOEsQL7lA&feature=related">Ella Fitzgerald's</a> or <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7ENPQzlUpY&feature=related">Billie Holiday's</a> versions.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Or both. Enjoy.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div>Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-37288696605060733542010-05-27T21:33:00.002-04:002010-05-27T23:09:53.081-04:00Twelve Poems with Flowers<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"End of May"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Atop each stem</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">an iris or two has turned in </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on itself with no regrets and given up</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">color. Pink, yellow, and red,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the rosepetals are spread</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">so wide they already tend</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">toward total drop.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Peony litter covers the ground.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">On earlier days</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">friends and neighbors in pairs have been summoned</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to have a drink and see the bloom,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">have admired everything and gone.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I sit in my suntan oil alone --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">almost alone -- a jay</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">\tries to flap me away</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">from his drinking trough.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">His coarse, demanding rebukes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">pierce my ears. He chirks</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">news of impending drought.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But under my feet as I tan</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">is no longer a brick patio,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">rather a light brown</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">paisley made of seed wings</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">from the silver maple, which can sow</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">faster than I can sew</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">this fine fabric into something.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And in the air,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like a great snow,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">are flakes alive with purpose.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The cottonwood huffs and puffs</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">them everywhere.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">On oil that sheathes me from the sun</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">they cling to bare parts of person.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">All the long, late</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">day,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">my arms and legs are furred</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with such a will to beget</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I think I can almost afford</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to forget it's only skin-deep. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It's like taking dope.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>It's too late, </i>I tell the tree,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you've settled on somebody seedless.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Equivocally, it nods its head.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But I have been overheard.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>Maybe for you but not for me</i>,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the seedy old world says.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Mona Van Duyn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Poem"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I wished to describe</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">leaf-fall</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in South Park</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">five white swans</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">standing on a clouded mirror</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of water</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I wished to paint</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">black chrysanthemums </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">oxidized by hoar-frost</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">light on the lips</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of a passing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">girl</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I recalled the poets</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of The Middle Kingdom</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">they had mastered the skill</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of composing the perfect work</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">they are extinguished</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but the light of their poems</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">reaches me</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">across thousands of years</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a leaf touched the ground</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I now understood</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">weeping pictures</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the silence of music</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the mystery of crippled poetry</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">When I got home</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">my hand began writing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a deaf-and-dumb</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">poem</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">it wished to be</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to see the light</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but I have no wish to write it</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I hear how it slowly</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">stops breathing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>November 1982</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Tadeusz Rozewicz</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Polish by Adam Czerniawski</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Radical Grace"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I see a man bathe through a hotel window.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">He has long hair. One bright geranium is placed in a jar.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Standing by the garden he picked it in</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I can almost see long legs through autumn night and steam.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Vital grace essential; there must be slow jazz playing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on an old radio, the glass he lifts a ruby venous bell.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The city is Vancouver, night tired just before rain.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">He turns to watch me, ambivalence and grace.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">This is still the first rule. The world reinvents itself.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">All pulse, continuous hesitation into what is lovely;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">re-invention. Hands urge to dry his sopping hair</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">now I can't name him man or woman.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Tanya Kern</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Yellow Iris"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It's early morning</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and a woman</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">from a previous</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">world is wading</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">up the stream.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Very stately and</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">sturdy with double-</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">jointed elbows she's</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">still in her</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">grave clothes,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">her crinkled three-ply</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">surcoat made of</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">cloth of June.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">She has one</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">gold-webbed glove,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">one withered hand.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">She's resting, considering</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">her next pose,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">behind the blades</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of slatted blinds.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Her name is</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Iris, the Rainbow,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the messenger, the</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">water's secretary, the </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">only word she</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">speaks is 'yellow'.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Lost ghost Queen</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of the Unbetween</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">it's lovely listening</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to the burp</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of mud as</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">she sinks her</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">feet right in.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Alice Oswald</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"August 1952"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It's still distant, but there are hints of springtime:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">some flowers, aching to bloom, have torn open their collars.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">In this era of autumn, almost winter, leaves can still be heard:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">their dry orchestras play, hidden in corners of the garden.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Night is still where it was, but colors at times take flight,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">leaving red feathers of dawn on the sky.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Don't regret our breath's use as air, our blood's as oil --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">some lamps at last are burning in the night.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Tilt your cup, don't hesitate! Having given up all,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">we don't need wine. we've freed ourselves, made Time irrelevant.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">When imprisoned man opens his eyes, cages will dissolve: air, fire,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">water, earth -- all have pledged such dawns, such gardens to him.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Your feet bleed, Faiz, something surely will bloom</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as you water the desert simply by walking through it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Faiz Ahmed Faiz</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Urdu by Agha Shahid Ali</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Gray Light in May"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The soft gray light between rains</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">This enveloping light</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Under a canopy of green</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Oak chestnut maple</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Last night the moon, orange and full</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Over Manhattan's West side</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Edgewater below so sleepy</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The neighborhood asleep</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">My family asleep</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Coming back here how many years now</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And the ride in from Newark</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Manhattan looming over the meadows</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>The beauties of travel are due to</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>The strange hours we keep to see them</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">This soft windless air</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Away now nearly thirty years</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You can smell the tidal flats below</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Passenger jets silent overhead</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">In and out of Kennedy, LaGuardia</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">As if gliding across the night</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">My heart abrim</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A glass of wind, spilling over</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The air like wine</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I am a stranger to myself</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The soft gray light</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The still moist air</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The azaleas in these yards</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Under the canopies of leaves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Fiercely abloom in this gray light</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Between rains</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Almost stereoscopic</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The broad green leaves overhead as well</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Painters know it, photographers too</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The smell of lilac</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Nudging my chest like the muzzle of a dog</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The manner in which this gray light</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Wraps itself around things</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Saturating them</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Bringing up their color</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">So much a part of me</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">So much of what is dearest </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I can barely stand upright under the weight of it</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The song of the wood thrush</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Reverberates through the heavy air</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And around its hidden columns</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>Who knows the Palisades as I do</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Lilac and dogwood</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Flowering pear blossoms, mingling</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Drifting into gutters</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">How many years</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">For how many years</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A stranger to my own heart</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- August Kleinzahler</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"The Arrival Matters"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Down this white-hot avenue</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">In a grayish-silver haze,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I am driving under blue</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And brilliant centuries of days;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And a south wind blows and blows,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Tosses the crepe-myrtle trees</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">White and mauve and pink and rose,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Blows the pollen and the bees;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Where the paving-lines converge</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">In their clot of blazing mist,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Where the sky and city merge,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Is the point where I exist.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Frederick Turner</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Poinsettia"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">red was always a fickle color</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but who cared when the mad woman</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">screamed off her head</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or your mother didn't speak to you</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and the words you needed</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">ran off and left you stranded</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">red could be capricious all she wants</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that doesn't alter the beauty of hibiscus</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or make them any less useful for</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">shining shoes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">dangerous or bold</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as women sitting legs spread</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">using their skirts to fan the heat</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">between their thighs</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or peppered shrimp </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">soliciting water from your eyes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">red is that mean sometimes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Opal Palmer Adisa</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"With Quevedo, In Springtime"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Everything has flowered in</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">these fields, apple trees,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">hesitant blues, yellow weeds,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and in green grass the poppies thrive.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The inextinguishable sky, the new air</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of each day, the invisible shine within,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that gift of a wide and vast springtime.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But spring hasn't come to my room.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">diseases, dubious kisses,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that stuck like the church's ivy</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to the black windows of my life,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and love alone is never enough, not even the wild</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and expansive fragrance of spring.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And, to you, what can these mean now:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the orgiastic light, the evidence unfolding</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like a flower, the green song</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the green leaves, the presence</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of the sky with its goblet of freshness?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">External spring, do not torment me,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">unleashing wine and snow in my arms,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">corolla and battered bouquet of sorrow,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">just for today give me the sleep of nocturnal</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">leaves, the night of the dead, the metals, the roots,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and so many extinguished springtimes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that awaken to life every spring.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Pablo Neruda</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Spanish by William O'Daly</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Freshen the Flowers, She Said"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">So I put them in the sink, for the cool porcelain</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>was tender,</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and took out the tattered and cut each stem</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>on a slant,</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">trimmed the black and raggy leaves, and set them all --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>roses, delphiniums, daisies, iris, lilies,</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and more whose names I don't know, in bright new water --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>gave them</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a bounce upward at the end to let them take</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>their own choice of position, the wheels, the spurs,</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the little sheds of the buds. It took, to do this,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>perhaps fifteen minutes.</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Fifteen minutes of music</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>with nothing playing.</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Mary Oliver</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"At Stinson Beach"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Trompe l'oeil stillness in a steady rain</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The coast road: morning glories in a drainage ditch</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Pale touch-me-nots: suicide in early spring,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Its particular agony, the false note</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">By what name, when blossom</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Falls on blossom, rain</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">On rain</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">What she brought back from that minute tranquillity</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">She never said</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">How the flower of her body</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Danced her dresses into light</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Fog and the early sun, an easy wind</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">She danced swaying in the stalled light</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">She danced easily without occasion</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Variations in green, ferns, redwood,the rain</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Robert Hass</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"How to Walk in the Dark with Flowers"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Open your eyes to the light</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the armful of lilies you are holding</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Move forward and be guided</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">by the sheen of their white curves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">quavering stamens of dizzy gold</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">shimmering back at you as you</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">take the first step</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A torch of flower-light</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">does not allow itself</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to feel </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">cut from the earth</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Just think: to be beautiful</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and dying at the same, last time</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Lay the lilies down on the body</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Leve them, and say goodbye</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Now, groping along</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on hands and knees</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the help you need</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you generate yourself</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as you wait for lucidity</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to descend</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with its burden</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of resolve</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">which you'll readily embrace, arms eager</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">glad to push upright again</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">dark clay at a good distance</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">wind from the sky heaping around you</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">living aromas</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">from beings of light someone planted</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">many years ago</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- David Zieroth</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div>Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-52246977873110654572010-04-30T23:10:00.004-04:002010-05-01T00:56:41.866-04:00Twelve Poems with Three-Word Titles<div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">"At The Piccolo"</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Sitting in the jazz café at four a. m.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">plotting a future in another country and a change of heart</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I see a friend walk past with a 'striking woman'</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I happen to know has syphilis. His last girl was a lesbian</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the one before that slit her wrist</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">four times in a week. Sitting at my table</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with a Spanish coffee and a diary of despair</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">scribbling its lunatic message in my eyes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I think of two foreign girls with brutal inclination</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">grappling on the gymnasium floor with their legs</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">awkwardly apart, smelling of stale perfume, honest toil</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and a frank desire to please.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The girl thinks she might make the coffee</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">'on the house'. I'd back out of such a contract</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on principle, remembering the advice of a friend:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Don't shit on your own doorstep, he said. Outside</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the street takes on a pale radiance and a hint of mist.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">My friend walks in, alone, and we talk</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">carefully avoiding references to women, love, despair</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and the pale carnage of the street.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- John Tranter</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Natural Science Teacher"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Finally I spy that bundle of light, slowly flowing into the woods. Like a</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">silent stream, leaving a waterfall, myriad specks of dust, like spores, float</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">among the beams, exploring, or aimlessly wander off.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">They enter the woods. there's a child fascinated by insects, going on and</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on about plants with me. there's a youngster who loves climbing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">mountains and fording streams, who will someday trace every range I've</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">crossed. As for that girl who writes like a poem, she's never grown up,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">still that same likeness of an 11-year-old I dote on.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">They'll come across my death, in different places. It might be like the</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">shards of a beetle shell, or possibly a rotting, withered tree.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And, by chance, they'll encounter my birth, a kind of essence even more</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">concrete than tender shoots and new leaves, sitting by their side in</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">lonesome moments.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">They continue going into the woods. Inside my aged sea-turtle's body</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">they squirm about, vexing me, tiring me, harassing me. It's always been</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">my living question mark, my uncertainty.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Liu Kexiang</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Chinese by Nicholas A. Kaldis</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"In This January"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">This must be the month when someone decided</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to make months; to count sunsets and full moons and only give it</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">so much time. And though Janus looks both ways, this January</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">is intent only on winter's face. It cups and kisses it</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on the forehead, on the eyelashes. Why could winter</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">ever want to leave, if all that attention kept up.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I pass a half-built church on my walk every morning</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and every morning I'm filled with the envy thinking of the dreams</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the people building it must have. My dreams are shoeboxes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">filled with bones from my feet. When I wake it's with a mouthful</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of mother-may-I's and the taunting of another day,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">daring me to take a step as it pulls the walls up even higher.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">No, it doesn't look both ways, it makes me do that.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">This house is a maze of those bare walls, perfect</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for showing home movies on. And I've become the projector.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Susan Goyette</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Inside the Redwood"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Floating tiers and worlds</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a green heaven doll house</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">dense microwood spaces</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">needle masses stretch out</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">big rain shroud wings over</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">air runways imagined solid</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as clouds flown through in planes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">thick stacked tufted landings</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">branch bales piled up feathery</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">no sky shows through</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in there the greens so dark</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like blacks with orange edged</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">light lower lift-ups</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of needle tip droopers poised</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to move up and down in</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the water weighted wind</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Tom Clark</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Out of Body"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">That wasn't love; that was</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you unravelling quietly</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on the backseat,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">lying back thinking</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you never dreamed</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">phallic was this big.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You skipped </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">your favourite:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">stew peas and rice,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for this?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You should eat something</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">before you take in</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">too much air. Fill yourself</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with yellow and gold</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or the sounds of rain</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">falling out of a movie</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you remember watching</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">when no one was on top of you.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You move your right hand</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">down the slope of back.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Jesus!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You've never prayed like this,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for flesh and flood.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You've found a village.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">This place is your own:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the smell of you</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like damp earth and curry.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">What sex are we</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">twined like bamboo stalks</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in a farmer's hands,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">journeying to the sound</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of a car engine?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Me, somewhere on a gravelled road.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Tanya Shirley</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Washing the Grain"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Round and round the year tilts</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">from nighttime to dawn from sunlight to shadow</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and the pale days falling from this side to that</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">yield a fine cloudiness only</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">We are so far now, so far, cry the grains</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the home-field only a memory warm</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the husk</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and that too sloughed off</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that too lost</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the mortar's pounding</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Round and round spin the days</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">another year of this churning</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and tilting, washing at last</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">quite over the rim</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">will we lie in clear water,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">pure, transparent,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">delicately separate?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">We shall become </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">consumable: our pale substance</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">will satisfy somebody</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And this dark grit</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">trapped in the bowl's fine furrows</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">may be disposed of, thrown</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">out upon the wattles and dry grass</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Yasmine Gooneratne</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Their Canvases Are"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">full of the timeless faces</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of their kind, gazing out</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">at a distance that is empty</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of our inventions and serene</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">so. the trees are dark</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">flames, burning in the Florentine</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">weather in answer to</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">their need of the blind hand</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for form, kindling nothing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but the imagination, for</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the earth that produced</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">these was fertile of</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">worse things: our shadows,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for instance. fortunate</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">people, foreseeing so much</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on the horizon, but never ourselves coming.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- R. S. Thomas</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Configuration of One"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A friend wrote: <i>"you know of course</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>the 'you' in that short piece I wrote</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>beginning 'I dreamed that you were in</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>my dream' etc. was you" </i> and you know</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">last night I dreamed</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">someone had put a fine wire</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">across my path and I tripped.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And I told someone the reason I thought</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I like green so much is because</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I was once a bird. <i>"An owl,"</i> he said.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Some people have said I was</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in Italy during the time of the Medici</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but I think it was earlier, back</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">when Giotto was pressing angels into</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">flat chapel walls. When you came</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">into the room last night I was that again.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">--Ann Lauterbach</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"What It Does"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The sea bit,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">As they said it would,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And the hill slid,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">As they said it would,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And the poor dead</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Nodded agog</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The poor head.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">O topmost lofty</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Tower of Troy,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The poem apparently</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Speaks with joy</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Of terrible things.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Where is the pleasure</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The poetry brings?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Tell if you can,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">What does it make?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A city of man</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">That will not shake,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Or if it shake,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Shake with the splendor</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Of the poem's pleasure.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- David Ferry</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Always, Not Always"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Always evening. always fall</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or early winter. Street lights burn;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">soft discs smudge into brown</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">haze. Not always.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Sometimes, in the green</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and white of spring</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">she sat with an old friend</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the park, where mint</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">made its own season,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">cool summer; fragrant </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">warmth in winter's rain.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">He told her of waking</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to its smell, subtle blossoming</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in tea. Of the fountain where</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">his daughter liked to play;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the plane's white wings, stains</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on shuddering tarmac</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">where he trained younger men.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Back in the city where they talked</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">she wakes. cut-glass</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in a strange apartment shimmers</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">deep, obsessive blue,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">fills her eye. In the air,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">he told her, land, your loved ones</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">fall away so easily . . . . It's here,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">now, you feel it, faces</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">turn dispassionate, eyes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">glance off you, flicker with some</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">hostile feeling. but there,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you let it go, hands free.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Except in the whining surge</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of take-off and descent</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">when the earth, its contents,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">pull with such force</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you beg them not</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to let you leave.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Diana Fitzgerald Bryden</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Little Night Music"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Of neighbors' voices and dishes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Being cleared away</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">On long summer evenings</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">With the windows open</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">As we sat on the back stairs,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Smoking and sipping beer.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The memory of that moment,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">So sweet at first,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The two of us chatting away,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Till the stars made us quiet.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">We drew close</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And held fast to each other</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">As if in sudden danger.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">That one time, I didn't recognize</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Your voice, or dare turn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">To look at your face</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">As you spoke of us being born</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">With so little apparent cause.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I could think of nothing to say.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The music over, the night cold.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Charles Simic</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"The New Pastoral"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The first man had flint to spark. He had a wheel</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to read his world</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I'm in the dark.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I am a lost, last inhabitant --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">displaced person</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in a pastoral chaos.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">All day I listen to</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the loud distress, the switch and tick of</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">new herds.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But I'm no shepherdess.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Can I unbruise these sprouts or clean this mud flesh</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">till it roots again?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Can I make whole</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">this lamb's knuckle, butchered from its last crooked suckling?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I could be happy here,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I could be something more than a refugee</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">were it not for this lamb unsuckled, for the nonstop</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">switch and tick</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">telling me</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">there was a past</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">there was a pastoral,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and these chance sights</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">what are they all</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but amnesias of a rite</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I danced once on a frieze?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Eavan Boland</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-76023450898439234602010-03-16T12:28:00.005-04:002010-03-16T18:57:07.774-04:00Twenty More Poems with 3-Line Stanzas<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://hedgeguard.blogspot.com/2007/11/some-poems-with-3-line-stanzas.html">Here's the earlier thread of 3-line stanza poems</a>.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Transits of Venus"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Vancouver airport. I have crossed this space before,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">leaving lovers -- a small planet moving slowly</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">over a vast and polished floor, circled by strangers.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Beyond the lounge window, gray skies, gray tarmac.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Straight white painted lines plane off across</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the wide-winged delta and intersect the arc</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of the horizon. I watch a train of luggage carts</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">cut a tangent towards me, towed through a bubble</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of silence -- sound severed from me by glass --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and think of moon buggies, vehicles designed</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to cross the surface of a satellite, exploring flat</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">gray plains, <i>Mare Oscularum, Mare Incognita</i>.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I am exploring the thought of leaving you --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you, the men who stayed there on the Island,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you, the men who left on flights back east.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Transits of Venus occur perhaps too often</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in my life. the inner planets, small separate</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">circles, cross the blazing surface of the sun</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and then separate, depart to shine alone,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the wandering ones together only for a time,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">contained by the bright circumference of love.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Alice Major</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Moonstone Woman"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b></b>Moonstone woman combs her hair;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">blind since before birth</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">she is in her own inner light</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">From somewhere the sound of a great jar cracking</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">water comes flowing down a long staircase</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">o the bottom of this dark violet hole</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">When she illuminates her loneliness</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">at the four corners of earth</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">crouching dogs loom</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">One day she will pass beyond the pagoda</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and on through corridors of clouds</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">guided by fish with lidless eyes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But for now with sour fruit in her mouth</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">she sits combing moonlight</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">being consumed by shadow</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Tada Chimako</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Japanese by Robert Brady & Odagawa Kazuko</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Landscape with Teeth"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Cattle dusk-sculpted on a plinth of skyline.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Breast of chaffinch a watered strawberry.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Inishturk a whale-shape on the glazed sea.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Bog, clod, soggy, sod, plod. Nimbus</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of light over boggy pasture; couchgrass</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in flattened mats; blunt push of mushrooms</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">through loamy hush. Nests, passage graves,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">crosses. Steam-clouds out of the cows'</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">rosy mouths. Soft furnaces of their body-bulk.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Three girls moving through rainmist</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">under a huge blue umbrella, waiting for Monet</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to paint them as they are on the headland:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">grey swell of sea, horizon a pale lapis, sky</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">chequered with cloud; a pointillist silvering</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">shiver of rain. Their poppy-coloured laugh.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Indoors, a window-ledge of books, that umber</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Italian vase of meadowsweet and loosestrife,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a spray of fuchsia against the verdigris</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and plumblue bulges of Tully Mountain.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">In the foreground one rusted sickle, a single</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">blip of sunlight igniting its bent tip.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But where do the real dreams come from</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in their primary colours -- with their small teeth</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">sharpened and their warm wet tongue?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Eamon Grennan</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Old People"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Their old skin has the marks of the sea in it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The patterns of waves. Traces of sand crabs in the patterns.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Wind traces. Splinters of seashells. Markings of kelpfronds.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Their voices are loud against the waves coming in.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">They shout out into the wind that blows back into</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Their mouths the words they are trying to shout out into</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The wind that blows against them. What they possess</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">They possess with a fierceness that comes from a deafness that isn't</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Deaf, but it hears the waves say take them, take them.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But they cry out against the waves in voices</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Violent and weak I won't give in to them.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">They're in a room full of people almost without</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Any furniture only some metal chairs,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">So the walls resound and Cerberus barks a lot.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It is a nightmare of the high school lunchroom.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- David Ferry</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Yellow Rooms"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">In Grenada for the first time, my woman</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">island, without her, at my writer-friend place</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in Morne Jaloux, verandah view</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">out to bush bush bush</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">then the Carenage,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">we were liming in the kitchen</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">talking good talk bout books</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and freshness over oil-down</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">cook up by her boxer-boyfriend</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">when, just so, a bat fly in the place,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">flapping wild, nearly buck up</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the walls. Everybody duck,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">scream with a kind of delight.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It fly fly fly like a madness,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like moth on fire.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>The radar off</i>, my friend say.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The damn thing couldn't find</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the door it fly in from.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>Is a fruit bat, right?</i>, I laugh,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I laugh a tremble-laugh.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">This creature just come</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and mash up all the vibes,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">all blind, hairy, all clamour of wings.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Even love, I learn, could be just so,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">not meant for this house,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">these small, yellow rooms,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a notion, a thing-thing,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">old suckblood idea;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">who say it could fly in,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">dance up in the air and thing;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">not a window open again</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to chase the thing back out.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Come in like it want stay</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for true,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">come cause commotion</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in I heart.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Christian Campbell</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Meadowsweet"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>Tradition suggests that certain of the Gaelic</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>women poets were buried face down</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">So they buried her, and turned home,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a drab psalm</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">hanging about them like haar,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">not knowing the liquid</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">trickling from her lips</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">would seek its way down,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and that caught in her slowly</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">unraveling plait of grey hair</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">were summer seeds:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">meadowsweet, bastard balm,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">tokens of honesty, already</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">beginning their crawl</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">toward light, so showing her,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">when the time came,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">how to dig herself out --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to surface and greet them, </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">mouth young, and full again</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of dirt, and spit, and poetry.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Kathleen Jamie</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Eclipse with Object"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">There is a spectacle and something is added to history.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It has as its object an indiscretion: old age, a</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">gun, the prevention of sleep.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I am placed in its stead</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and the requisite shadow is yours.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It casts across me, a violent coat.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It seems I fit into its sleeve.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">So the body wanders.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Sometime it goes where light does not reach.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You recall how they moved in the moon dust? <i>Hop, hop</i>.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">What they said to us from that distance was stupid.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">They did not say <i>I love you</i> for example.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The spectacle has been placed in my room.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Can you hear its episode trailing,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">pretending to be a thing with variegated wings?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Do you know the name of this thing?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It is a rubbing from an image.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The subject of the image is that which trespasses.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">\You are invited to watch. the body</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in complete dark casting nothing back.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The thing turns and flicks and opens.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Ann Lauterback</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"I am like the leaf that knows its limits"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I am like the leaf that knows its limits</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And doesn't want to extend beyond them,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Not to blend with nature, not to flow into the big world.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I am so quiet now that</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I can't imagine</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I ever shouted, even as a baby in pain.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And my face, what is left</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">After they hewed it for love,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Like a quarry. Now abandoned.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">--Yehuda Amichai</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Hebrew by Benjamin & Barbara Harshav</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"In a White Town"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">She never looked like other boys' mums.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">No one ever looked without looking again</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">at the pink kameez and balloon'd bottoms,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">mustard-oiled trail of hair, brocaded pink</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">sandals and the smell of curry. That's why</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I'd bin the letters about Parents' Evenings,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">why I'd police the noise of her holy songs,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">check the net curtains were hugging the edges,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">lavender-spray the hallway when someone knocked,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">pluck all the gold-top milk from its crate</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in case the mickey-takers would later disclose it,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">never confessing my parents' weird names</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or the code of our address when I was licked</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">by Skinheads (by a toilet seat)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">desperate to flush out the enemy within.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I would have felt more at home had she hidden</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that illiterate body, bumping noisily into women</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">at the market, bulging into its drama'd gossip,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for homework -- in the public library with my mates,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">she'd call, scratching on the windows. Scratching again</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">until later, her red face would be in my red face,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">two of us alone, she'd duck at my stuttered Punjabi,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">laughing, say I was a gora, I'd only be freed</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">by a bride from India who would double as her saathi.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Nowadays, when I visit, when she hovers upward,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">hobbling towards me to kiss my forehead</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as once she used to, I wish I could fall forward.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Daljit Nagra</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Cleaning St. Anne"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">St. Anne holds Mary on her ample impastoed lap,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">they're both grown but Anne's got knees</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the size of ham bones and Mary's light as a conscience.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">They say Leonardo painted with his fingertips,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">dragged the paint across the surface, blending one tone</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">into another, precious pigment into sealer.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Everyone's barefoot and plump, reclining</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on high rocks somewhere higher than Montana.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Jesus is squeezing a lamb. Mary reaches out placidly.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I love St. Anne this way, butch and nurturing.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">How will her restorers decide what's actual varnish</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and what's original pigment? That's the question.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I moved into St. Anne's parish in 1958.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I hadn't been tweaked or rulered yet, no one'd</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">threatened me with sadism or molested my little brother.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Now her head is cracking badly, she needs</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">analysis and restoration, the paint above her eyes thin</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as mother's milk, her daughter's robes greasy as makeup.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I say: It's women who keep the church alive.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">There we are, week after week, filling the pews,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">handing men the reins. What do we expect?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Still, there is little left between modesty and acrimony,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">little that the cruciform does not polarize</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like a magnet in iron filings -- you here, you here.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Transcendence comes late, well after seven, that</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">age of reason when you're finally able, after games</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of catechism, to figure out equations for salvation.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Honey, you need a good cleaning. Your face</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">is covered with a dark green veil and your eyes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">have lost their watery sheen. Mona Lisa's next, and look</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">at <i>Ginevra de'Benci</i>, cross-eyed as the day she was born,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">now pearly as a baby's behind. the tints of her face</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">appear not to be colors at all -- but living breathing flesh.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Maureen Seaton</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Trinket"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I love watching the water</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">ooze through the crack in the fern pot,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">it's a small thing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that slows time</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and steadies</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and gives me ideas of becoming</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">having nothing to do</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with ambition or even reaching,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">it isn't necessary at such times</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to describe this,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">it's no image for mean keeping,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">it's no thing that small</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but presence.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Other men look at the ocean,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and I do too,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">though it is too many</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">presences for any</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to absorb.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It's this other,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a little water, used, appearing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">slowly around the sounds</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of oxygen and small frictions,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that gives the self</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the notion of the self</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">one is always losing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">until these tiny embodiments</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">small enough to contain it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Marvin Bell</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"The Alfa Romeo"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I admired the Parthenon</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in its every column</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I found the golden mean</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but today if I may say so</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I find the good and beautiful</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in a sports Alfa Romeo</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Summer and winter let there be</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">all around me olive groves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">behind me centuries</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">When the road before me takes off</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and leads me into temptation</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I step on it and floor the gas</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">With the power of a lion</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and a background of birds</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I reach a hundred miles per hour</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Good-bye seas and mountains</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">good-bye and full speed ahead</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for the Kore of Lightning.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Odysseus Elytis</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Greek by Jeffrey Carson & Nikos Sarris</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Your horse"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">has arrived and is bending himself into the room,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">refolding his legs. I knuckle his nose,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">which reminds me of the arm of a chair.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">He is talking low and steady,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">rolling back an eye towards his chestnut brain.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Man-words are climbing his long throat.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I show him to the bathroom</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and he is embarrassed. Next he is hoofing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">through your photo album.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">There are more of me than of him.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">We are crunching on polo mints together</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and remembering the way your body used to move.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Jack Underwood</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"The Greeks"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I would have like to live among the Greeks,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">talk with Sophocles' disciples,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">learn the rites of secret mysteries,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but when I was born the pockmarked</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Georgian still lived and reigned,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with his grim henchmen and theories.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Those were years of memory and grief,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of sober talks and silence;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">there was little joy --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">although a few birds didn't know this,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a few children and trees.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">To wit, the apple tree on our street</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">blithely opened its white blooms</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">each April and burst</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">into ecstatic laughter.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Adam Zagajewski</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"White Cockatoos"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Spectres inverting sunlit</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">paddocks after late rain</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">field into quadrature out</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of blind-spots, raucous</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">it's said, like broken glass</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in a nature reserve</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but that'</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">s no comparison;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">cowslip orchids' yellow parameters</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">curl like tin, or cowslip orchids'</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">yellow parameters reflect clusters</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of white feathers from canopies</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of wandoos or sheaths of flight,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">down in deep green crops</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">ready to turn when rains are gone,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">beaks turned back towards</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">whereabouts unknown,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but almost certain to appear,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">at least as atmosphere.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- John Kinsella</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Lucia"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">My hair, voluminous from sleeping in</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">six different positions, redolent with your scent,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">helps me recall that last night was indeed real,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that it's possible for a bedspread to spawn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a watershed in the membrane that keeps us</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">shut in our own skins, mute without pleasure,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that I didn't just dream you into being.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You fit like a fig in the thick of my tongue,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">give my hands their one true purpose,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">find in my shoulder a groove for your head.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">In a clinch, you're clenched and I'm pinched,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">we're ;spooned, forked, wrenched, lynched</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in a chestnut by a mob of our own making,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">only to be resurrected to stage several revivals</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that arise from slightest touch to thwart</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">deep sleep with necessities I never knew</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I knew until meeting you a few days</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or many distant, voluptuous lifetimes ago.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Ravi Shankar</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Traffic"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The semitrailer crawls through the fog.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It is the lengthened shadow of a dragonfly larva</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">crawling over the murky lakebottom.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Headlights cross among dripping branches.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You can't see the other driver's face.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Light overflows through the pines.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">We have come, shadows chassis from all directions</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in failing light, we go in tandem after each other,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">past each other sweep on in a modest roar</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">into the open where the industries are brooding,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and every year the factory buildings go down another</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">eighth of an inch -- the earth is gulping them slowly.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Paws no one can identify leave a print</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on the glossiest artifacts dreamed up here.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Pollen is determined to live in asphalt.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But the horse-chestnut trees loom up first, melancholy</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as if they intended to produce clusters of iron gloves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">rather than white flowers, and past them</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the reception room -- a fluorescent light out of order</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">blinks off and on. Some magic door is around here! Open!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and look downward, through the reversed periscope,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">down to the great mouths, the huge buried pipes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">where algae is growing like the beards on dead men</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and the Cleaner swim on in his overcoat of slime</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and his strokes weaker and weaker, he will be choked soon.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And no one knows what will happen, we only know</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the chain breaks and grows back together all the time.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Tomas Transtromer</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Swedish by Robert Bly</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"My Perpendicular Daughter"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">My perpendicular daughter grew taller</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">than they said she would do when I got her;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I wish they hadn't lied to me like that.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I thought a daughter would be light and quiet --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">not at all; they hung her upside down inside me</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and now she sticks straight out, gets in the way</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">when I stand close to walls. I tried to take her back</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but they said I should be glad a man had known me</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and I'd only got what I'd been begging for.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Would I like a booklet? Instead i asked for milk</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and tipped its long white screech right down,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">it furred my throat and stayed there, curdling</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">all afternoon. there are no returns on daughters,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">they pointed out. I aimed her at them like a gun:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">This is how death begins, I told them.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Emily Berry</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Leda"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You think a god is coming his wing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">makes a kind of shadow <i>I</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you say and you are changed</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You were just sleeping but now you can</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">never stop the shock even</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">if he hands you hat and whip bit and rein</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like lightning he rises with you, memory</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">blows off you where were you first casually</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you stroke the down that is burning you</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Eva Gerlach</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Dutch by Alissa Valles</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"What Price"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">We wear down bars of soap</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with our palms, stone</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">steps with our feet. Light</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">will rub that drawing,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">imperceptibly at first, till</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the girl's face vanishes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Will a field, crossed often</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">enough, sink? Your clavicle,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">where my head rests?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">There is a room where light</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">tracks the day along the wall,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">simply, without tenderness.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It leaves no deep impression,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">nor do our thrown shadows.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But the earth. It shifts, in time.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">--Stephanie Bolster</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div>Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-10133947581628312792010-02-28T19:57:00.008-05:002010-02-28T22:04:01.281-05:00Twelve March Poems<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"March Snow"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">There is something hopeful about March,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">something benevolent about the light,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and yet wherever I look snow</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">has fallen or is about to fall, and the cold</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">is so unexpected, so harsh,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that even the spider lily blooming</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on the windowsill seems no more</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">than another promise, soon to be broken.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It is like a lover who speaks</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the passionate language of fidelity, but</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">when you look for him, there he is</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the arms of winter.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Linda Pastan</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"March morning unlike others"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Blue haze. Bees hanging in the air at the hive-mouth.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Crawling in prone stupor of sun</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">On the hive-lip. Snowdrops. Two buzzards,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Still-wings, each</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Magnetized to the other,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Float orbits.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Cattle standing warm. Lit, happy stillness.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A raven, under the hill,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Coughing among bare oaks.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Aircraft, elated, splitting blue.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Leisure to stand. The knee-deep mud at the trough</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Stiffening. Lambs freed to be foolish.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The earth invalid, dropsied, bruised, wheeled</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Out into the sun,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">After the frightful operation.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">She lies back, wounds undressed to the sun,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">To be healed,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Sheltered from the sneapy chill creeping North wind,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Leans back, eyes closed, exhausted, smiling</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Into the sun. Perhaps dozing a little.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">While we sit, and smile, and wait, and know</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">She is not going to die.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Ted Hughes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Sunny Day in March"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Even the weathercock turns with the sun on such a day.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It must be spring. Outside the cellar wall the cat</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">has found himself shelter. He's asleep, no doubt,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but his fur is well puffed up and his paws</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">well tucked under. A fly has been tempted out</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">from a crack in the warm plank wall -- starts</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">buzzing. Soon stiffens. It's too cold.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Olav H. Hauge</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Norwegian by Robin Fulton</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"A Death in March"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>Even so the Spring goes forward.</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The rind of the trees weepy with sap. No spigot to carry it off.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">From here to the other side, ice is motley. The river's current</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">expression: a stutter of ice cakes on the shore. Fret of spume.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>Some days, though, we waken to snow,</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">fugacious erasure of mud and broken branches.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">We feel the setback. Want the spectacular squalor</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of Spring: its colourless smear. There's no word for that.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">For snow falling, fugue slow, through fog. Earth and air</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">unable to settle what it's to be. Now is after. Or, ahead?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Interrugnum: Its beauty is brutal. A raw wind through <i>bereft</i>.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Anne Compton</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Spring Equinox Full Moon"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I breathe to you</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">love in the south of the many</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">months of spring</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">hibiscus in dark hair water</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">at the source</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">shadows glistening to hips</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">thighs slender sunset shining shores</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">fingers rolled fragrant leaves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">presence of deep woods</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">earth veiled in green drift</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that hides running</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of small airs</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">untraceable fine sounds</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">passing as on a face</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">feet first drops of rain on a mountain</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">hands greeting flowers</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">holden stolen flowers</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">closed eyes of every creature</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">sepia and amber days</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">back</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of tall tree</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">arms' glide</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">voice of rain forests</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">birds in tree heights</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">throat of palm</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">wrist of palm</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">palm of palm</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">morsel breasts</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">melon navel waist of high waterfall</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">surf laughter face hearing music</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">body of flight</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">secret </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">beach</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">away from you on a corner of the earth</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I want to think for six hours of your hair</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">which is the invention of singing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">daughter of islands</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">born in the flood of the fish harvest</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I see long mornings</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">lying on your hair</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I remember looking for you</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- W. S. Merwin</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"March 2003"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">In March exact shadows on snow,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">blue in the spectrum overtakes lavender;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the pillows of vapor at a slow bedroom gallop.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Up, up, the whistle pierces; the burn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of one and one, couples the rising</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">yearn, twin twine, dare,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and thickening flash in shoals.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Even deep-rooted conifers,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">their green wax fangs open,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">hustling in the languorous swells.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Ruth Stone</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Unknown Things"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">were set before me on earth .</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But once I touched them I'd known them</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">right back from the blinding sight I caught</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of the glacier by whose foot red and golden</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">birds foraged in the shadow of tall mammoths</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and the noise I heard from the bells and the smell</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of church porches, earth in March, so many springs . . . </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Every day tools they were. A hammer, a saw and</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the things which people during the time they have on earth</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">learn the names of, and cut into each other with.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Henrik Nordbrandt</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Danish by Robin Fulton</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"March 21"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The vernal equinox is to blame</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for the celestial uproar, Anne</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Carson said, and nothing surprises</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">me more than the streaks of white</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">sunlight this morning with Dexter</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Gordon's version of "Tangerine"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in my mind the day is a rhyme</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the pencil broke, no need to shout,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I want a girl to write sonnets about</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in college & love is the food</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that nourishes what it consumes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in springlike days in furnished rooms</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I'm hungry, please come and touch me</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and I'll whisper your name the only</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">thing missing in this picture is you</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- David Lehman</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"March"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A bear under the snow</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Turns over to yawn.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It's been a long, hard rest.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Once, as she lay asleep, her cubs fell</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Out of her hair,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And she did not know them.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It isk hard to breathe</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">In a tight grave:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">So she roars,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And the roof breaks.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Dark rivers and leaves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Pour down.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">When the wind opens its doors</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">In its own good time,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The cubs follow that relaxed and beautiful woman</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Outside to the unfamiliar cities</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Of moss.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- James Wright</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"If I Could Paint Essences"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>(Hay on Wye)</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Another day in March. Late</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">rawness and wetness. I hear my mind say,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">if only I could paint essences.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Such as the mudness of mud</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on this rainsoaked dyke where coltsfoot</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">displays its yellow misleading daisy.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Sch as the westness of west here</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in England's last thatched, rivered</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">county. Red ploughland. Green pasture.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Black cattle. Quick water. Overpainted</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">by lightshafts from layered gold</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and purple cumulus. A cloudness of clouds</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">which are not likie anything but clouds.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But just as I arrive at true sightness of seeing,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">unexpectedly I want to play on those bell-toned</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">cellos of delicate not-quite-flowering larches</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">tht offer, on the opposite hill, their unfurled</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">amber instruments -- floating, insubstantial, a rising</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">horizon of music embodied in light.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And in such imagining I lose sight of sight.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Just as I'll lose the tune of what</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">hurls in my head, as I turn back, turn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">home to you, conversation, the inescapable ache</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of trying to catch, say, the catness of cat</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as he crouches, stalking his shadow,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on the other side of the window.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Anne Stevenson</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Three Things That Make Me Outrageously </b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>Happy in March"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>Begin with the evergreen <i>Clematis montana</i>. Shy</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">about opening, blooms pulse into view</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a few at a time against the night sky. Some</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">morning, a creamy tsunami</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">sweeps over the chain-link fence in a spring</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">seizure of yearning. Drenches the passerby in</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">dizzying scent and charges winter's</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">dark air without warning.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>Next, the black umbrella</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">ribs of <i>Styrax japonica</i> open to rain. Their</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">delicate green incipient leaves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">reverse the gradual losses of autumn. remember</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">this overture to the Japanese Snowbell</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">symphony in May when it's time to clean up</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the carpet of dried flowers and pods, time to</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">cart uprooted seedlings away.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>When navel oranges</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">kissed by lazy California sun, glow like</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">moons in every supermarket, I go</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">crazy, buy all I can carry. At home, they</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">tumble from the sack to kiss my eager lips, and as</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that nectar of the gods floods my veins, I live</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in lovers' paradise every juicy moment</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of Seattle rains.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Madeline DeFrees</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"March"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A Caribbean airflow</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">shampoos the brook.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The deepsea deepwarm look of</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">sky wakes green below</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">amid the rinds of snow.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Though all seems melt and rush,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">earth-loaf, sky-wine,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">swept to bright new horizons</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with hill-runnel, and gash,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">all soaked in sunwash,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">far north, the ice</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">unclenches, booms</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the chunks and floes, and river brims</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">vanish under cold fleece:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the floods are loose!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The sullen torn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">old skies through tattery trees</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">clack, freezing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">stiffens loam; the worn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">earth's spillways then relearn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>how soaring bliss</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>and sudden-rigoring frost</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>release</dd> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>without all lost.</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Margaret Avison</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div>Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-22662043745548028962010-02-07T00:34:00.007-05:002010-02-07T02:59:59.200-05:00Fifteen Poems from Europe<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"The Dump"</b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">O glorious dump, how shall I sing your praise!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You lie in the flickering sunset, sprawling, dishevelled;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A subfusc cat, immaculate in evening dress,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Tweaks at your swelling paunch, deft as a pianist.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The rotting backs and shattered glass of mirrors</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Enclose a wormwood's straggling roots;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You are as grand as Venice! (No, far grander!)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The cat is your gondolier, and sings a serenade.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The ruined wreck of an ottoman</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Lies cramped in a pool of lilac shade,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Whispering tales of hookahs by the Golden Horn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">To lionising clumps of willowherb.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">July bobs to admire its face in shards of glass.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A crow dives slowly, then plumps down,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And struts upon you, stately as Sulla,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Holding doom, or mercy, gripped in each claw.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You're peaches' slimy shreds, and berries' slippery bubbles,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Lost lenses, torn book-covers, broken medals;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Your skin is leprous; you're pink and blistered</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">As a child inundated in scalding soup.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You're Dionysus ritually dismembered,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You're a microcosm in a make-up mirror.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But I say this to you: shake your sleepy limbs,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Get up on your feet, and walk. And then,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You monster, incubus of night,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Open your tattered mouth and speak.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">O glorious dump, shake out your limbs and walk!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Sing of the days spent lying in the sun,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Your body warm, your giant's brain crackling, burning,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Yet unifying all that you survey.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">May great thoughts bloom and rot in you</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">As you feast on vodka droplets, chicken bones.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">O glorious dump, get to your feet and sing!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">O Rosa mystica, he gods must hear your voice.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Elena Shvarts, Russia</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Russian by Catriona Kelly</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Night Breeze"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Unexpectedly the windows open</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Wide during the night. The rectangle</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Swallows the bedroom, it's a different night where</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Life turns inside out like a glove. A veined hand</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Emerges, leaf of a negative</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Hope on the phantom wall</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Pointing towards what? The cliff of a lake</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Sea-snows, lunar suns. A rough but tender</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Tongue darts from it, paying no attention</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">To the guard-rails of speech.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Come unstuck, drawings, framed mirrors</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The scribblings of the world</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Slip from the walls docile and unafraid</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Their fibers will be ripped.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A lamp gleams its star's hope in their wake</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The sheets knot themselves for an escape</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Exchange close body heat</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">For the sweet cold freedom of the clouds.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Claire Malroux, France</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the French by Marilyn Hacker</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Masterpiece"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The only masterpiece</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I ever created</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">was a picture of the moth Thysania agrippina</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in pastel on gray paper.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Because I was never</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">much good at painting. The essence of art</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">is that we aren't very good at it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The moth Thysania agrippina</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">rose from the stiff gray paper</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with outstretched, comb-like antennae,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with a plush bottom resembling the buttocks</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of the pigwidgeons of Hieronymus bosch,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with thin legs on a shrunken chest</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">lie those on Breughel's grotesque figures</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in "Dulle Griet," it turned into Dulle Griet</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with a bundle of pots and pans in her bony hand,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">it turned into Bodhiddharma</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with long sleeves,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">it was Ying or Shade</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and Yang or Light, Chwei or Darkness</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and Ming or Glow, it had</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the black color of water, the ochre color of earth,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the blue color of wood,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I was as proud of it as an Antwerp councilor</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or the Tenth Patriarch from the Yellow River,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I sprinkled it with shellac, which is</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the oath that painters swear on Goethe's Science of Colors,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and then the art teacher took it to his study</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and I forgot all about it</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the way Granny used to forget</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">her dentures in a glass.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Miroslav Holub, Czechoslovakia</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Czech by Dana Habova and David Young</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Relativity"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>(Homage to Maurice Cornelius Escher)</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Picking up green bottle ends and golden shells</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on the beach may be an innocent act, full of beauty</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for the walker who uses his eyes. But it can also be</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a treacherous episode, if your wandering thoughts frame</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">an alien face, unknown to the bodies that are yours</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and which concern you.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But that does not make less beautiful or strange your <i>objets trouves</i>,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">stored in the tubular glass belly of your hope.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Now, the figures you see when you rub your eyes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">are green snow crystals, a negative looked at through the microscope</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of a hurricane's eye. Your life like a drawing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">where you see two faces: an old woman and, afterward, the woman when young;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a rabbit if you look at it with the left eye (and this is love</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">entirely); if with the right, a duckling's beak aimed</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">directly at the open heart of a patient in theater.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Even so, although we stayed on the edge, we were afraid</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of the trucks backfiring.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Today, a calm mind sees how past and future rush by</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">haughty and utterly opposed. Let us not cease to thank the man</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">who painted it: spring, the present, the dividing line.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Anna Aguilar - Amat, Spain</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Catalan by Anna Crow</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"The House"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The man alone listens to the calm voice</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with half-closed eyes, as if a breath</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">were blowing on his face, a friendly breath</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">rising -- astonishing -- from a lost time.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The man alone hears the ancient voice</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that his fathers, in their day, heard, clear</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and collected, a voice that, like the green</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of ponds and hills, deepens with evening.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The man alone knows a shadow voice,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">caressing, that rises up in the calm tones</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of secret springs: he drinks it intently,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">eyes closed. Its presence isn't apparent.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">This is the voice that once stopped the father</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of his father, and on back through dead blood.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The secretive voice of a woman that comes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">from a doorway a the falling of dusk.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Cesare Pavese, Italy</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Italian by Geoffrey Brock</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"The Leaf of the Poplar"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It trembled so, the wind carried it away,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">it trembled so, how could the wind not carry it away</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the distance</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a sea</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the distance</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">an island in the sun</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and hands grasping the oars</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">dying the moment the port came into sight</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and eyes closed</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in sea anemones.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It trembled so much</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I wanted it so much</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the cistern with the eucalyptus trees</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">spring and autumn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in all the woods naked</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">my God I wanted it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- George Seferis, Greece</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Greek by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Wood and Shavings"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Of hornets I will say nothing,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">since they are so easy to spot.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Also, the current revolutions</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">are not that dangerous.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Death has always been chosen</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">amid a fanfare of noise.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Yet beware the May flies and women,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">beware the Sunday hunters,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">beauticians, the undecided, the well meaning,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the ones devoid of contempt.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Out of the forests we carried branches and logs,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and for a long time there was no sun.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Intoxicated by paper on the conveyer belt,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I no longer recognize the branches</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">nor the moss, carved into the bark,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">impudent and true.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Wasted paper, banners,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">black posters . . . . By day and by night</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the machine of faith rumbles beneath</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">this or that star. But in wood,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as long as it is still green, and with bile,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as long as it is still bitter, I am</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">willing to write what happened at the start!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Make sure you stay awake.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The swarm of hornets chases the shavings</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">blown by the wind, while at the fountain,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">resisting the curled allure</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that once made us weak,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">my hair bristles.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Ingeborg Bachmann, Germany</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the German by Peter Filkins</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Still Life"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Here in a summer full of dust</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"> the dampness of winter</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">trails us into dark corners.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I bought the shoes days ago</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but they remain untouched in the box</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">heel to heel.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Blessed is the sunbeam that falls upon us</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like the eye of a stranger focused on a <i>natura morte.</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A platter of the season's finest fruit</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">so plump, and nestled among it, a shiny dagger.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It's not dangerous</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but as alluring and peaceful</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as the fruit that surrounds it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">What has become of us?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">My hands, skillful and transparent,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">slice the atmosphere into rabbit feed.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Another new pair of shoes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to help you enjoy a stroll around the grounds.\</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Since you've left I dream of only one thing:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the sound they would make</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the evening</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as you reach the front door.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Luljeta Lleshanaku, Albania</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Albanian by the author and Henry Israeli</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"The Old Gods"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Now they are condemned</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to live in cracks,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in bubbles of plaster and rust,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and spiders' webs</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">behind the furniture:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">speaking a derelict language</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to empty space,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">sealed with the vapour</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in bottles, closed in the blown</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">robins' eggs</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in some abandoned loft.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Each has its given power.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Each has its hearth, its secret,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">its local name,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and each has its way of learning</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the skill of return, </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the science of bleeding through, when anger or fear</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">is fuzzing the surface,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">making us dizzy and whole.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- John Burnside, Scotland</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Voice"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I walk on the sea-shore</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to catch that voice</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">between the breaking of one wave</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and another</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but there is no voice</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">only the senile garrulity of water</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">salty nothing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a white bird's wing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">stuck dray to a stone</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I walk to the forest</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">where persists the continuous</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">hum of an immense hour-glass</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">sifting leaves into humus</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">humus into leaves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">powerful jaws of insects</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">consume the silence of the earth</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I walk into the fields</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">green and yellow sheets</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">fastened with pins of insect beings</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">sing at every touch of he wind</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">where is that voice</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">it should speak up</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">when for a moment there is a pause</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the unrelenting monologue of the earth</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">nothing but whispers</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">clappings explosions</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I come home</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and my experience take on</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the shape of an alternative</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">either the world is dumb</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or I am deaf</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but perhaps</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">we are both</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">doomed to our afflictions</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">therefore we must</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">arm in arm</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">go blindly on</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">toward new horizons</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">toward contracted throats</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">from which rises</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">an unintelligible gurgle</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Zbigniew Herbert, Poland</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Polish by Alissa Valles</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Apples"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The apples have fallen and rot in the yard.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And you aren't here.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Otherwise, everything goes on like before.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The cricket creaks in the dry grass.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The windowpane is shattered.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The stone has fallen by the bed.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Shards of glass cover the pillow.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Lyubomir Nikolov, Bulgaria</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Bulgarian by Miroslav Nikolov</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Moths"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Tonight the air smells of cut grass.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Apples rust on the branches. already summer is</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a place mislaid between expectation and memory.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">This has been a summer of moths.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Their moment of truth comes well after dark.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Then they reveal themselves at our window-</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">ledges and sills as a pinpoint. A glimmer.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The books I look up about them are full of legends:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">ghost-swift moths with their dancing assemblies at dusk.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Their courtship swarms. How some kinds may steer by the moon.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The moon is up. the back windows are wide open.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Mid-July light fills the neighbourhood. I stand by the hedge.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Once again they are near the windowsill --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">fluttering past the fuchsia and the lavender,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">which is knee-high, and too blue to warn them</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">they will fall down without knowing how</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or why what they steered by became, suddenly,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">what they crackled and burned around. They will perish --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I am perishing -- on the edge and at the threshold of</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the moment all nature fears and tends towards:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the stealing of light. Ingenious facsimile.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And the kitchen bulb which beckons them makes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">my child's shadow longer than my own.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Eavan Boland, Ireland</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Essay"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Life begins with the reptiles:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the amoeba, the snails, the spiders,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the water with a tusk on each wave,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the space-hungry paths,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the roots, when they're hungry.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Even the minerals</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">devour one another.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A diamond has all the others</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">inside its guts.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">What we see as vertical</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">is the various forms</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of courtship dances which,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in poplars for instance, come close to being sublime,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in mountain ranges, to being grotesque,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in snakes, to being rainbows.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">At night from the moon rattles</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the hour of multiplication,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">even seeds are on heat;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">wax grows most frenzied of all.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The fishes, the birds, the mammals with great hopes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">(among them humans too)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">lay their eggs straight into sand</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">which they forget as soon as the kiss is over.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">As you can see,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">everything round about is perfect</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as a sphere</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">containing neither an angle</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">nor a broken line</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with which one could hang oneself.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Marin Sorescu, Romania</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Romanian by Michael Hamburger</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Star, Meteor, Some Shooting Thing"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">That one coming out of a building with a full-face crash helmet,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">jumping toward an afternoon of tar</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and wind against his neck, impatient, and savoring</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the scent of mixture and of the two-stroke engine</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or perhaps of fresh-cut grass, the short kilometers</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that will zip by free of care, pure images</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of faces and fleeting bodies, windows</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like screens or glimpsed nostalgias, forgettable</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">sorrows: a light accompanies him. To leave,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">just to leave, to get lost, to become</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">\star, meteor, some shooting thing.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Suburbs of nothingness, and in every house</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the same blue flame, and clear signs</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of frustrated hopes and oppositions</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that have been utterly crushed.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Dogs on leashes, old folks, playgrounds.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">"Do you know that once upon a time some forth head</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of cattle used to graze here?" says one,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">tapping his foot on the polyurethane surface of the small field.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">This is the afternoon: a diffused dazzle, </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the unexpected greeting of those you pass by.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And some knowing looks, that say thank you.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">That say we are here, in spite of it all.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The watermelon, for example, that a group of Turks</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">kindly offered us, was delicious.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Fabio Pusterla, Switzerland</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Italian by Marella Feltrin-Morris</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Silence"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Silence</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Like the one before the world was created</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Fog slides over the river</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Tangles in bushes on shore</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Dew trembles on a branch</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A bud bursts open</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A fledgling moves in a nest</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Silence</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Like the one before the first word was spoken</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Church bells lick their lips</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Ronalds Briedis, Latvia</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Latvian by Margita Gailitis and J. C. Todd</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div>Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-31208363445267749532010-01-20T23:08:00.004-05:002010-01-21T00:58:40.723-05:00Twelve Poems Beginning With The Word "The"<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"Essex Rag"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>Do not play this piece fast.</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>It is never right to play ragtime fast.</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Scott Joplin</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The piano years . . . Too young to drive</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I played pedal to the metal,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">full reverb, wah-wah and fuzz,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a collision course bending <i>Chopsticks</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">into hairpins, trilling the hell</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">out of cheesy <i>Fur Elise</i>.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The teacher's 'grown-up' bait</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">was a bowdlerised <i>Ode to Joy</i>,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">heavy goods I slammed through,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">dropping a trail of exhausted parts </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- like the juggernauts</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">shouldering the lane past our door.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">If the point is not to bring the house down,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">what better place</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">than somewhere you wake up</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to everything years after it's moved on?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The times I tried to move on . . .</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But from here, I mean there, wherever</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you get to is not far and still nowhere, so</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">there's nothing for it but to head home,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">unsure whether the last bus has gone.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">There's slow and there's the discovery of slow.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The last bus has not gone.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It never comes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Lavinia Greenlaw </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"12th-Century Chinese Painting</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>with a Few Dozen Seal Imprints Across It"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The tea has given way to plum wine,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and still they're talking, animated down to points</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of fire deep in their pupils -- two scholars. "Look,"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">one motions at what's outside the sliding panels: landscape</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">where the purling of river leads to foothills,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">then to the tree-frowzed mountains themselves, and</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">up from there . . . . The sky</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">has opened. Out of it, as large as temple gongs</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">yet floating as easily as snowflakes, pour</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">transistor circuits, maps of topiaries, cattle brands,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">IUDs, the floorplans of stockades, cartouches,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">hibachi grills, lace doilywork, horsecollars,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">laboratory mouse-mazes, brain-impressions, all of it</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">sketching the air like a show of translucent</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">kites in blacks and reds, a few beginning</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">("Look, <i>there</i> . . .") to snag in the treeline, or hover</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">above the whorling bunched rush of a riverbend . . . .</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">"You see?" says one with a shrug and eloquent</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">tenting-up of his eyebrows, "You <i>see?</i>? -- he's</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">too polite to declaim it in words.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">They've been arguing if The Other World exists.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Albert Goldbarth</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Golden Mountains"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The first time</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I saw mountains</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I was</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">twenty-six</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">In their presence</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I didn't laugh</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I didn't shout</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I spoke in whispers</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">When I returned home</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I meant to tell</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">mother</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">what mountains were like</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">That was difficult to do</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">at night</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">everything looks different</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">even mountains and words</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Mother was silent</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">perhaps tired</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">she fell asleep</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The moon</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the golden mountain</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of humble folk</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">waxed in the clouds</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">--Tadeusz Rozewicz</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Polish by Adam Czerniawski</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Rabbit Cry"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The season? Not yet spring. The place? Beside</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A knot of sapling birches, under sky</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Silver as birch-bark. Here were gaping wide</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A warren's crumbling mouths to catch our feet.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">We stooped; the nets were staked, the bag untied,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And into day's eye glared a blood-red eye --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The ferret trembled, with a sudden slide</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Plunged white to darkness. Hearts resumed their beat.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Yet memory's fixed by what I did not see.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It was as if I heard the birches creak</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Under a troubling gust, as if each tree</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Now drew up from its roots those shreds of words</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">That in the windless day surrounded me.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It was the warren's mouths began to shriek --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I saw their breathless immobility</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Ajar to the still sky stripped bare of birds.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Edward Lucie - Smith</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Daily"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The fork, leaving</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">my mouth, travels to plate, then sink,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">dishwasher, drawer, in your hand</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">beats eggs in Grandma's bowl.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You cook as though you're still pipetting</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">DNA. You're always measuring.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">As stings sailed us down the aisle,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you checked your watch. Reaching</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to set the timer, you make</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">an egg yolk cataract. There is</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the broken bowl, my grief,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you don't know how much,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">how many spoons of blood leak</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">from me each month, amount</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of anxiety held while scrubbing egg</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">from tines. So little time; my fingers</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">would rather be quiet on the porch</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">ofl your eyelashes. that time, obsessed</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with BOOP (Bronchiolitis Obliterans</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with Organizing Pneumonia), you didn't</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">see me for days, although we rose,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">ate breakfast, faced the sun, felt</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the same counter, toothpaste tube --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">parallel circuits; calculate</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the distance between. The fork is clean.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I'd love to take in</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the lovely souffle, but you --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you are the sun</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with headlamp in he next room,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">holding out a soccer ball, spun</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">(its axis is your thumb) for our son</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">into its countless days.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Barbara Nickel</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"The Empty Sky"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The empty sky. The empty sky.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I can't tell what might satisfy.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">No more perhaps than a few bars</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">across the window to stop my eye.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Agnes Nemes Nagy</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Hungarian by George Szirtes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"What It Really Means"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The cemetery where the college</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">students went to screw</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">was where we went to test</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">this S. M. business after</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">drinking up to it. I tried</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to put a rose-thorn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">through your ear lobe but</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you ran off screaming while I</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">didn't feel a god-damned thing:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you weren't a masochist, </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I wasn't a sadist, we</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">weren't even lovers, but</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">we did remain friends</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">back in philosophy class</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">where "The truth</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of a theory is</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">demonstrated by</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">its practical application."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">This is what it really </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">means, Pragmatism.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Alan Dugan</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"The New Style Western"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the two horsemen</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on opposite banks of the Rio Grande</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">shook</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">their fists</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">then solemnly turned</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">their knob-kneed steeds</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and rode away</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">they would be back</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but not in this movie</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">which was about the strange and amusing ways</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">prairie dog</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">owl and rattler have</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of living together</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">--Anselm Hollo</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"The Kitchen Grammars"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The verb in a Sanskrit or Farsi</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or Latin or Japanese sentence</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">most frequently comes last,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as if the ingredients and spices</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">only after collection, measure and</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">even preservation might get cooked.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">To all these cuisines renown attaches.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It's the opening of a Celtic sentence</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">is a verb. And it was more fire and pot</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for us very often than ingredients.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Had we not fed our severed heads on poetry</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">final might have been our fame's starvation.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Upholding cuisine for us are the French</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to be counting in scores and called Gallic.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">In English and many more, in Chinese</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the verb surrounds itself nucleus-fashion</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with its subjects and qualifiers.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Down every slope of the wok they go</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to the spitting middle, to be sauced,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">ladled, lidded, steamed, flipped back up,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">becoming verbs themselves often</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and the calm egg centres the meatloaf.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Les Murray</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"The Egg"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The old woman dried an egg</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with her working apron</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">heavy egg the color of ivory</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">which nobody claims from her</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">then she looks at the autumn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">through the little dormer</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and it is like a fine painting</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the size of a picture book</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">nothing is</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">out of season</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and the fragile egg</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that she holds in her palm</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">remains the one thing that is new.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Jean Follain</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the French by W. S. Merwin</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Harp Trees"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the cast-iron moon on the wall</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">vibrates a kind of speech</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">at the edge of thought</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the dark</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>I lay my cheek</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">against her cold lace, crescent</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and our hair blows out into the world</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the glint into which we're gone</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">speaking</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">she was the symbol of a group</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">called the maidens</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and before that she was part</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of the wall of the ice-cream</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">parlour, Owl Drugstore, San</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Francisco, 1915</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">her speech is the kindness of</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the house</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as the Royal Hudson passes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">whistling down the steam tracks</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and the trees speak on the </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">feathered wind a greenness</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">harp-sequoias lost at the windows</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">neither kisses nor wounds in the nests</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Robin Blaser</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Torch Song"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The heaven of her</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">hips -- over me, such sway --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">She got some saint</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">standing at the gate</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">keeping the crowds away.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I would get down</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on knees, or pay</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to build a stain-glass mission</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">if that would get me in --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I'd slave</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">& scrub & sing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in Sunday best till I was clean</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as a broke-leg dog --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I'd save & spring</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for a whole new church wing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">if that would let me see</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">my Lady of Fog</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">& the Forty </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Sorrows again --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">--Kevin Young</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div>Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-12232076782972605712010-01-09T22:41:00.013-05:002010-01-10T23:08:32.901-05:00Twelve Poems with Food in Them<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b><i>"Sonnets from Hellas </i>6: Desfina"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Mount Parnassus placid on the skyline:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>Slieve na mBard, Knock Filiocht, Ben Duan</i>.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">We gaelicized new names for Poetry Hill</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">As we wolfed down horta, tarama, and houmos</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">At sunset in the farmyard, drinking ouzos,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Pretending not to hear the Delphic squeal</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Of the streel-haired <i>cailleach</i> in the scullery.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Then it was time to head into Desfina</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">To allow them to sedate her. And so retsina,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Anchovies, squid, dolmades, french fries even.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">My head was light, I was hyper, boozed, borean</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">As we bowled back down towards the olive plain</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Siren-tyred and manic on the horn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Round hairpin bends looped like boustrophedon.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Seamus Heaney</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Poui"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">yellow is decidedly hot</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like curried goat simmered with peper</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or jumping-rope to the rhythm of</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">your desire's name</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">it's love bush covering</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">everything it clings to</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like wormy fingers</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">crawling up your legs</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and you not knowing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">how to say stop</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or even if you want to say stop </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or how to pretend as if</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">it's not awakening something</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">somewhere inside you</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you cannot draw a line</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">between guinep and june-plum</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or jack-fruit to an adolescent kiss</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">tongue on tongue</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">at a sunday evening cricket match</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">yellow is like that</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a poui tree in blossom</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">golden goblets</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">hanging from branches</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">yes yellow is</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that innocent and all desire too</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Opal Palmer Adisa</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"How to Make Pesto"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Go out in mid sunny morning</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a day bright as a bluejay's back</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">after the dew has vanished</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">fading like the memory of a dream.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Go with scissors and basket.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Snip to encourage branching.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Never strip the basil plant</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but fill the basket to overarching.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Take the biggest garlic cloves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and cut them in quarter to ease</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">off the paper that hides the ivory</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">tusk within. grind Parmesan.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I use pine nuts. Olive oil</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">must be a virgin. I like Greek</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or Sicilian. Now the aroma</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">fills first the nose, then the kitchen.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The UPS man in the street sniffs.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The neighbors complain; the cats</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">don't. We eat it on pasta, chicken,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on lamb, on beans, on salmon</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and zucchini. we add it to salad</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">dressings. We rub it behind our</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">ears. We climb into a tub of pesto</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">giggling to make aromatic love.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Marge Piercy</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"The Orange Is Ripe"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The orange is ripe</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the sun-filled orange is ripe</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Let me into your heart</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">heavily laden with love</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The orange is ripe</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">its skin exudes a fine mist</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Let me into your heart</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial, serif;">grief becomes a fountain of joy</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The orange is ripe</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a bitter net contains each segment</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Let me into your heart</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to find my shattered dream</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The orange is ripe</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the sun-filled orange is ripe</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Bei Dao</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Chinese by Bonnie S. McDougall</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"The Dinner Guest"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Let's begin with dinner, the menu:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">oiled lettuce, lemon juice, broken bread,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">noodles spun with crushed tomatoes,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and the matchstick julienne</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of fennel and skin of an orange.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I'm not angry yet, stirring the sauce.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The wine taste like a ripe field.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Let the fly rub his legs together</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">over the wet cutting board,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">let him hold still in the bright aroma.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Dinner's next: sipping, chewing,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">talk of a high order among men.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The female side of the table</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">is motherly, leaning with spoons</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to serve the salad. No one says thanks --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">is this 1953? Sorry.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The newest year's dashed outside,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">wind takes the trees,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and pine needles fly,m a dry shower,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a needle storm. There's no decorum outside.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Stirring, stirring more sauce,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">while his words cascade around me,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I focus on the spoon,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">ruined with red. The spoon</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">is the center of the rising heat world.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The spoon with its shreds of red</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">holds the glory of taste and submission</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in its olive grain.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Bump, bump, bump, I tap the spoon</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on the bowl's edge.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I keep undercutting the beauty.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The guest is sated, sips his wine,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">tips the chair on two legs.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The fly has found the leftovers.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Let him eat from the same plate.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Ann Townsend</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Potatoes"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">No one knows</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">what potatoes do.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Quiet and secretive</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">they stick together.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">So many under one roof</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">there is talk of incest.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The pale, dumb faces,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the blank expressions.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Potatol dumplings.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Potato pancakes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Potato head.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">In dark cellars</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">they reach across the potato bin</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to hold one another</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in their thin white arms.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Lorna Crozier</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"The Human Sacrament"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Is nothing new sacred? The book, the sky,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The women on the blue and red screen</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Painted in Japan about five hundred years ago. Someone</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Has tipped the screen over. I'll set it back up</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Putting all the emotion in the thing felt at the thing done. A mirror can be clearer</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Than a dog, but a small dog can run. Sacred</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">is perhaps the relation that caused</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">My daughter to be born. Yet is she sacred?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">She is a woman with someone's arm</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Around her shoulders. she is of this world</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The way the pipe is, that goes from the well to the house,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and the way the grass is that at this season leaps about up and under it,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And as the cigarette is that the gardener throws in the grass.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Has it a sacred flame? The pope going to the house. Later, who knows?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The sacred is the sacrament. and it is what</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">We wanted once to be --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Give me some more coffee,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Some more milk, some more bread, some more breakfast!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Is nothing new sacred? The screen is standing up.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">My daughter and her baby come for tea. The baby comes for milk.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">They're here in time.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">--Kenneth Koch</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Summer Food"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Green, the shape of a man</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with the insides of a woman,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">they swim and dive around each other</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the boiling water, like porpoises.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">O, to put the whole pod</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of okra in the mouth.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Tomatoes, it is time to taste</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">ourselves, in these wet, red rooms,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the rooms of our mouths,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">where lives the sigh</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of language.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Corn, the tassels pull apart,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">ears and silk, ears and silk and teeth,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Cantaloupe, a globe in tight webbing,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">crisscross imprint. the onion underground,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in crumbs of dirt and old fabric.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Heat waves take form. without fear or panic,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the air becomes visible.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Cucumbers, turning and sinking in the vinegar bowl.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I hold a head of cauliflower in my hand.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It's the head of someone whose name escapes,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">which is not so strange. there are many names</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for the ones we love, and wonderful to say:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Broccoli, Lettuce, Cabbage,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">String Beans, Snow Peas, Pear,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Watermelon, Pomegranate, Plum.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">\Let us eat the solid forms of sunlight,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and walk around after supper</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the gold time,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">loving each other and talking vegetables.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Coleman Barks</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Making Salad"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-style: italic; font-family:arial, serif;">after Eihei Dogen</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I rub the dark hollow of the bowl</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with garlic, near to the fire enough</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">so that fire reflects on the wood,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a reverie that holds emptiness</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in high regard. I enter the complete</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">absence of any indicative event,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">following the swirl of the grain,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">following zero formal and immanent</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the wood, bringing right to</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the surface of the bowl the nothing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">out of which nothing springs.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I turn open the window above the sink</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and see fire, reflected on the glass,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">spring and catch on a branch a light</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">wind tosses about. Here or there,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">between new leaves the Pleiades,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like jewels in the pleromatic lotus,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">flash. I watch the leaves swirl</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and part, gathering light fresh</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">from Gemini, ten millennia away, fresh</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">from Sirius -- holding each burning</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">leaf, each jewel within whatever light</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a speck of conscious mind can make,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">unshadowed by reflection or design,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">impartial. Out the tap, from a source</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">three hundred feet down, so close</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I feel the shudder in the earth, water</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">spills over my hands, over the scallions</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">still bound in a bunch from the store.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I had thought to make salad, each element</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">cut to precision, tossed at random</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the turning bowl. Now I lay the knife</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">aside. I consider the scallions. I consider</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the invisible field. Emptiness is bound</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to bloom -- the whole earth, a single flower.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Margaret Gibson</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Preserves"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Great love goes mad to be spoken: you went out</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to the ranked tent-poles of the butterbean patch,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">picked beans in the sun. You bent, and dug</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the black ground for fat purple turnips.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You suffered the cornstalk's blades, to emerge</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">triumphant with grain. You spent all day in a coat</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of dust, to pluck the difficult word</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">ofka berry, plunk in a can. You brought home</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">voluminous tribute, cucumbers, peaches,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">five-gallon buckets packed tightly with peas,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">cords of sugar-cane, and were not content.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You had not yet done the pure, the completed,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the absolute deed. Out of that vegetable ore,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you wrought miracles: snap-beans broke</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">into speech, peas spilled from the long slit pod</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like pearls, and the magical snap of your nail</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">filled bowls with the fat white coinage of beans.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Still, you were unfinished. Now fog swelled</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the kitchen, your hair wilted like vines.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">These days drove you half-wild -- you cried, sometimes,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for invisible reasons. In the yard, out of your way,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">we played in the leaves and heard</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the pressure-cooker blow out its musical shriek.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Then it was done: you had us stack up the jars</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like ingots, or books. In the dark of the shelves,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">quarts of squash gave off a glow like late sun.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">That was the last we thought of your summer</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">till the day that even the johnson grass died.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Then, bent over sweet relish and black-eyed peas,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">over huckleberry pie, seeing the dog outside</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">shiver with cold, we would shiver, and eat.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Jack Butler</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Meditation for a Pickle Suite"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Morning: the soft release</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">As you open a jar of pickles.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The sun through the window warm</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And moving like light through the brine,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The shadows of pickles swim the floor.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And in the tree, flowing down the chimney,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The songs of fresh birds clean as pickles.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Memories float through the day</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Like pickles, perhaps sweet gherkins.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The past rises and falls</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Like curious pickles in dark jars,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Your hands are sure as pickles,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Opening dreams like albums,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Pale Polish pickles.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Your eyes grow sharp as pickles,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Thoughts as green, as shining</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">As rows of pickles, damp and fresh,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Placed out in the afternoon sun.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- R. H. W. Dillard</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Ode to Pork"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b></b>I wouldn't be here</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">without you. Without you</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I'd be umpteen</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">pounds lighter & a lot</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">less alive. You stuck</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">round my ribs even</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">when I treated you like a dog</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">dirty, I dare not eat.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I know you're the blues</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">because loving you</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">may kill me -- but still you</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">rock me down slow</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as hamhocks on the stove.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Anyway you come</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">fried, cued, burnt</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to within one inch</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of your life I love. Babe,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I revere your every</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">nickname -- bacon, chitlin,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">cracklin, sin.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Some call you murder,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">shame's stepsister --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">then dress you up</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">& declare you white</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">& healthy, but you always</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">come back, sauced, to me.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Adam himself gave up</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a rib to see y ours</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">piled pink beside him.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Your heaven is the only one</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">worth wanting --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you keep me all night</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">cursing your four-</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">letter name, the next</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">begging for you again.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Kevin Young</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div>Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-88496535809641870482009-12-06T00:31:00.047-05:002009-12-06T17:40:19.568-05:00"If Winter Comes . . .": Twelve Spring Poems<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b><i>"Make It New"</i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Look how the soft leaves of the pear</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">hang limply under its rain-filled flowers</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like wings from a still wet cocoon,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">not yet extended.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Below me in the glistening haze the rain</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">strings glass beads on magenta gauze</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and the chartreuse unfoldings of the birch.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The oriole</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">hasn't bored me yet.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- M. Travis Lane</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><i>"Wisteria Floribunda"</i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Half drunk</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on the heavy scent</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of purple,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I almost expect</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the naked</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">trees</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to step from behind</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">their fringed </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and beaded </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">curtains,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to the electric thrum</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of bees.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Linda Pastan</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><i>"To a Cherry Tree in Bloom"</i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">To awake, to be on an April morning</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the whiteness of that cherry tree;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to burn from leaves to root,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to flower just like that, to blossom poetry.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">To open one's arms, to gather in one's branches</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">wind, light, or whatever it might be;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to feel time, strand by strand,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">weaving a cherry's heart in a cherry tree.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Eugenio de Andrade</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Portuguese by Alexis Levitin</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><i>"Picking Daffodils"</i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">They have spilled their slippery juices over me</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">let fall saliva from their long green stems</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Their viscous threads of water swing into my house</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">remind me of the waters of your mouth</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- P. K. Page</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><i>"New"</i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The long path sap sludges up</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">through an iris, is it new</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">each spring? And what should</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">an iris care for novelty?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Urgent in tatters, it wants</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to wrest what routine it can</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">from the ceaseless shifts</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of weather, from the scrounge</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">it feeds on to grow beautiful</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and bigger: last week the space</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">about to be rumpled</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">by iris petals was only air</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">through which a rabbit leapt, </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a volley of heartbeats hardly</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">contained by fur, and then the clay-</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">colored spaniel in pursuit</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and the effortless air</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">rejoining itself whole.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- William Matthews</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><i>"The Wind Has So Much To Tell This Spring"</i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The wind has so</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">much</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to tell</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">this spring. I haven't heard</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">him</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for years,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">he huffs</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and puffs</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in bare trees:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">wills them to quicken</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and break into green!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Cuffs the roof-ridge:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">wills, wills them</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to quicken!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And so he's</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">back in the trees,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">shaking them</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">by the scruff</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with a rough blast</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and a sharp!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Teases</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">round corners,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">noses</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in last year's leaves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and flicks</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a twirl</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of them up --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">they're dry now,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">dry --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"> scampers across</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the field, whirls up</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">dust,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">comes back, puts on</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">an old black hat</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and is gone --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Come back!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Come back!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Olav H. Hauge</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Norwegian by Robin Fulton</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><i>"Spring Tide"</i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>I</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I seem lower than the distant waves,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Their roar diluting to the stillness</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Of the sea's progression across these flats,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A map of water so adjusted</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It behaves like a preservative</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and erases neither the cattle's</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And the sheep's nor my own footprints.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I leave hieroglyphics under glass</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">As well as feathers that hardly budge,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Down abandoned at preening places</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">That last so long as glassy islands</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Where swans unravel among the ferns.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>II</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It isn't really a burial mound</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Reflected there, but all that remains</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Of a sandy meadow, a graveyard</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Where it was easy to dig the graves.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The spring tide circles and excavates</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A shrunken ramshackle pyramid</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Rinsing cleaner scapulae, tibias,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Loose teeth, cowrie and nautilus shells</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Before seeping after sun and moon</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">To pour cupfuls in the larks' nests,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">To break a mirror on the grazing</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And lift minnows over the low bridge.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>III</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The spring tide has ferried jelly fish</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">To the end of the lane, pinks, purples,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Wet flowers beside the floating cow-pats.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The zig-zags I make take me among</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">White cresses and brookweed, lousewort, </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Water plantain and grass of parnassus</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">With engraved capilleries, ivory sheen: </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">By a drystone wall in the dune slack</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The greenish sepals, the hidden blush</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And a lip's red veins and yellow spots --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">March helleborine waiting for me</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">To come and go with the spring tide.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Michael Longley</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><i>"April Chores"</i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">When I take the chilly tools</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">from the shed's darkness, I come</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">out to a world made new</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">by heat and light.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The snake basks and dozes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on a large flat stone.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It reared and scolded me</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for raking too close to its hole.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Like a mad red brain</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the involute rhubarb leaf</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">thinks its way up</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">through loam.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Jane Kenyon</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><i>"Before a Departure in Spring"</i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Once more it is April with the first light sifting</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">through the young leaves heavy with dew making the colors</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">remember who they are the new pink of the cinnamon tree</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the gilded lichens of the bamboo the shadowed bronze</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of the kamani and the blue day opening</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as the sunlight descends through it all like the return</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of a spirit touching without touch and unable</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to believe it is here and here again and awake</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">reaching out in silence into the cool breath</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of the garden just risen from darkness and days of rain</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">it is only a moment the birds fly though it calling</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to each other and are gone with their few notes and the flash</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of their flight that had vanished before we ever knew it</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">we watch without touching any of it and we</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">can tell ourselves only that this is April this is the morning</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">this never happened before and we both remember it</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- W. S. Merwin</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><i>"Night's End"</i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">In sleety dark</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the bouquet'd trees</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">are held deep, under earth.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Slow flambeaux.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Green life doused still by the</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">pale rainswollen clouds.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Grass now watercress-green through melting ice.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Unlidded, skylit world.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Margaret Avison</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><i>"Resurrection"</i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Surprised by spring,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">by the green light fallen like snow</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in a single evening,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">by hawthorn, blackthorn, willow,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">meadow -- everything</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">woken again, after how many thousand years?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">That generous throat</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">is a blackbird's. Now, a thrush.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And that ribbon flung out,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that silk voice, is a chaffinch's rush</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to his grace-note. Birds woo,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or apportion the innocent air they're made for.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Whom do they sing for?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Old may by the river --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">spread out like a cross in the sun,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">feet bare and stared at</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">by three grubby children -- you've made it again,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and yes we'll inherit a summer.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Always the same green clamouring fells you that wakes you.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And you have to start living again when it wakes you.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Anne Stevenson</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><i>"The Lilies"</i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Amid the gray trunks of ancient trees we found</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the gay woodland lilies nodding on their stems,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">frail and fair, so delicately balanced the air</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">held or moved them as it stood or moved.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The ground that slept beneath us woke in them</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and made a music of the light, as it had waked</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and sung in fragile things unnumbered years,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and left their kind no less symmetrical and fair</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for all that time. Does my land have the health</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of this, where nothing falls but into life?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Wendell Berry</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div>Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-26045580723919119922009-11-08T18:09:00.025-05:002009-11-08T20:06:43.211-05:00Twelve 6-Line Poems<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"What To Do"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">"Show, don't tell," they say, and I agree:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">so here, take a look at my naked body, of which</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I will tell you nothing, and here is my naked soul,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">\into which I will jump with both feet clad</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">only in socks, bright red ones from which</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">sparks are flying as I whiz into its depths.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Ron Padgett</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Dark Thoughts"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I'm almost like that dark hallway</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with a few framed photos</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and lamps on the walls.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">So many visitors have walked through me,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">dark and light,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">depending on the illumination.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">--Regina Derieva</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Russian by Valzhyna Mort</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Landscape with VW"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">This votive spansule driven at top speed</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Away from hell -- shivering Primavera,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Ingest the bitterness, spark and exhaust,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Of pangs all day deferred. Have me be one</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">With cub and violet, your whole wildlife</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Sanctuary hurt into blossom, healed by it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- James Merrill</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Celia's birthday poem"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">No ache, love, 's the way to start the New Year, --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">chant, then, "New Year" like "No ache" in your ear,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">all the while I praise wind and love your face</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">above snow that melts over trees' space:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">carol "No ache" like "New Year" between trees</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that removed still hare a few centuries.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Louis Zukofsky</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Hollows"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The whirlwind lifts</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">sand into itself to hide</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">holy spun emptiness or to</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">erect a tall announcement</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">where formed</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">emptiness is to be found.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- A. R. Ammons</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"In the Parker Pen"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">There are many verse in the Parker Pen, a whole kilometre,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and many more in the inkwell,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">miles and miles. Papers</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">come in the post, bills, adverts, forms</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to be filled up.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I face the future with confidence.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Olav H. Hauge</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Norwegian by Robin Fulton</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Beach Sandals"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I swam away from myself.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Do not call me.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Swim away from yourself, too.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">We will swim away, leaving our bodies</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on the shore</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like a pair of beach sandals.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Anna Swir</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Polish by Czeslaw Milosz & Leonard Nathan</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Never Again"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Old age means not being able</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to bit into an apple</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">walk the length of a valley</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">see every detail of a pattern</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">hear the highest alto deepest bass</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or wrap my legs around your waist.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Ruth Fainlight</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Menty Ears Ago"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Menty ears ago the dummer was sappy in my harms</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but I was yawning and spawning and twenty.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">What tears I let down in my beers of plenty.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">What sleet in his goat's beard tickled my sweat.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Not a fret left its own key, every morning</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">when we were ferning and fronding and yorning.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Ruth Stone</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"If Now in the Middle of My Life"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">If now, in the middle of my life, I think</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Of death, I do so out of confidence</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">That in the middle of death I will suddenly think</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Of life, with the same calming nostalgia</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And with the distant gaze of people</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Who know their prophecies come true.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Yehuda Amichai</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Hebrew by Benjamin and Barbara Harshav</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Snow-Hole"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Falling asleep in the snowscape of the big double-bed</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I wrap my hand around your hand until they catch fire</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And the snow begins to melt and we sink down and down,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The fire and ourselves, howl many feet below the morning.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Should our fingers burn out at the bottom of the snow-hole</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Smoke will escape up the glass chimney into the bedroom.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Michael Longley</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Going Back"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">How long, stone, did it take</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to get that fat?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The rain made the furrow a rut</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and then among the mint and nettles</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you make your appearance.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Sink again, you might cover bones.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Jim Harrison</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div>Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-36784817064376082232009-10-19T14:14:00.002-04:002009-10-19T14:18:43.699-04:00Since It's Halloween Again . . .<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><i><a href="http://hedgeguard.blogspot.com/2007/10/for-halloween-fungi-from-yuggoth-by-h-p.html">Fungi from Yuggoth</a></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', serif;"><i><a href="http://hedgeguard.blogspot.com/2007/10/for-halloween-ii-sonnets-from-midnight.html">Sonnets of the Midnight Hours</a></i></span></div>Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-88098740753648084002009-10-07T00:19:00.004-04:002009-10-07T01:13:38.004-04:00Twelve Short Canadian Poems<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"Rubus Ursinus:</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>A Prayer for the Blackberry Harvest"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Reaching through thorns,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">milking the black</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">udders with stung</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">wrists. Sister and </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">mother and un-</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">named stranger, say:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">whose is this dark</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">blood on my hands?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Robert Bringhurst</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"A Small Music on a Spring Morning"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Why did they put the</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">blue and white live</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">balloons out with the trash</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">this morning just because</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the party's over -- when they</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">thub on the cardboard still</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">roundly, and lift on their leashes?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Having balloons about on an</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">overcast morning is </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">celebration. O in the grey</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">nothing distracts from the bobbling</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">lightsomeness of a drift of</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">all-alone trembling to be touched</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">balloons.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Margaret Avison</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Nobody Belongs"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>nobody</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>belongs anywhere,</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>even the </i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>Rocky Mountains</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>are still</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>moving</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- George Bowering</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Fusion"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">no welding</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of ores or floes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">no liquation</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of salt pillars</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">no sunthaw of drift</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">deliquescence of hardness</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">is like the melding</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">wherever my bones</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">fuse & dissolve</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in your soft body</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">& we sleep into one</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">twinned</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">& twined</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">till we wake</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and rise</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">still welded</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i><dd>Toronto, March 1976</dd></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Earle Birney</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Dumb Animals"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You don't want to read</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">this sequence. It's about us, I say.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I've read part, he says.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It's sad. Have you got a title yet?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It's about how hard it is to talk.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Dumb animal, was what I thought.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">He smiled and shook his head.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Dumb <i>animals</i>, you mean, he said.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Sonnet L'Abbe</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Ultrasound"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">As in water face answers to face, </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>so here --</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">full moon awash in the autumn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">waters of the lake</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the last, late ferry's wake</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">answers to the moon's face: pale madonna. And you --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">wavery shape in the still, unbroken</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">waters of the womb, how you blink</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">upward into the world -- still blurred --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you gazing as if intent to see out, to find</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that lone, beloving faced</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that peers down, suckles you with first and</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">perfect light, then draws you,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">tidal, into the world.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">--Steven Heighton</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Age Is A Recurring Dream"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The boy died: he left at dusk</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with the last butterflies of summer.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A young man now sleeps in the gilded cage</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of his bones. In his dream,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the boy returns -- an old man</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">carrying his poverty and his shoes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And moving very slowly, like one</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">who has lived a long time,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">he pulls his shadow across the fields,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"> the moon's last remains.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Chris Banks</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Coming Back"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Saying crabgrass, plantain, begonia,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">saying Queen Anne's lace, devil's paint-brush, flag.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Time I was young I thought</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">letting them go was holy.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Quartz, saying granite, saying dirt-farm, outcrop,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">limestone, fossil, saying shale.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Coming back who needs it -- giving up the</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">things I never owned?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Saying city, chevvy, collision the sirens;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">hungry, saying finger, saying food.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Dennis Lee</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Paperweight"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You set your heart down on mine.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A bloody paperweight, heavy with</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">somebody else's grief -- not mine.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">No wonder I'm tired.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">No wonder I can't put one foot</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, serif; ">in front of the other.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I will stay like this for years</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">until I finally learn to slip away --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a dark shiny page falling</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to the floor.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Laura Lush</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Anglo-Saxon Guidebook"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">man woman</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">breed work eat</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">house shriek</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Sandra Alland</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Monster"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Under the bed, I wait for you to drop your book.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">One by one, I will eat the pages, every word,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">until I grow fat on your illiteracy, then</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">slither like an unvoiced question out the door.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">--Priscilla Uppal</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Hunger"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to roll in sage</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to smell of it</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to tear it to pieces</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to swallow the silvery air</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to eat sage</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to graze</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to dig like a dog beside it</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to have sage grow from me</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Alison Calder</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div>Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-43774808420107094302009-09-23T16:26:00.023-04:002009-09-23T18:25:15.270-04:00Fifteen Autumn Poems<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"Time To Gather In"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">These mild days of sun in September.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Time to gather in. There are still tufts</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of cranberries in the wood, the rose-hips redden</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">along the stone dykes, nuts fall to a touch,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and clumps of blackberries gleam in thickets,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">thrushes poke about for the last redcurrants</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and the wasp sucks away at the sweet plums.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">In the evenings i set my ladder aside and hang</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">up my basket in the shed. Meagre glaciers</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">already have a thin covering of new snow.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Lying in bed I hear the throb of the bristling fishers</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on their way out. All night, I know, they'll glide</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with staring searchlights up and down the fjord.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Olav H. Hauge</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Norwegian by Robin Fulton</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">"Communion"</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Birds circle above the hay barn.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A young bull gets up from the mud;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The tuft under his belly like a clump of grass.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">He bellows; his curly throat stretched up,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">His head half turned yearning upward from the wood slatted pen</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Where he sleeps or tramples the sloughed manure.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The birds gather to cheep in unison.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A row of oak trees shining like waxed veneer</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Ranges down windbreak.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The sky, vague blue behind a gauzy cumulus;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Pale fall sunlight glazes the barn shingles.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Now a chorus of bulls forcing music out of their bodies,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Begins and begins in terrible earnestness.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And the birds, undulating and rising, circle</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And scatter over the fall ploughed strips.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">What they are saying is out of their separateness.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">This is the way it is. This is the way it is.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Ruth Stone</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"Leaves in Autumn Wind"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You need no meaning more than mindless leaves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">That brush their reds and yellows in bright air</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">As if to specify an image there</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Whose disappearance can be rendered permanent;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Thus with their vanishing contained, you grieve</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">So quietly that it might seem you spent</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Whatever sorrow might inform the scene,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Leaves brushing reds and yellows in bright air,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">On finding meaning merely in what colors mean.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I still can see you underneath a tree,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Your hands outstretched to catch more evening light,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Though maybe in your mind you're watching me,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And maybe meaning means no more than sight</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Can cherish, and in cherishing let be,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">So that for all your minding you believe</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You need no meaning more than mindless leaves.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Robert Pack</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"October Compost"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Leaf rakes go back, go back and trees give up</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">more leaves than roots can use. Pack down</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the pounds of locust leaves, the aspen gold</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and fat catalpa bark. All summer we stacked</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the pantry, hauled bushels of ears to neighbors</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and the town's food bank. Now come the geese</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">from Canada, fields with loud flocks</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">pecking grain and corn. Our yard's a compost.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Bring out pitchforks and garden hose, turn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">barrels of garbage for the garden, tumble,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">churn it like sauerkraut steamy and damp.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">All seasons whisper resurrection.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I need this gray decay. Since March,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I've wrestled bales of barbed wire,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">bossed the herds, but fall brings cattle trucks.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Runt calves and old cows ride to slaughter.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Fall feeds the soil, and harvest saves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the stalks as silage to make cold cattle fat.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Fall saves migrating geese from freezing,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">leads us to spring, tilling the earth</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">till springer cows give birth.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Christ saves us from decay</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">we're destined for. Soon enough, we'll shove</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">wheelbarrows of dark October compost</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and watch the dry dirt bulge, mulch of worms</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and beetles making debris a kingdom.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Come, shirtsleeve months, come</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">bawling calves cavorting in corrals.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Walt McDonald</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Underwater Autumn"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Now the summer perch flips twice and glides</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a lateral fathom at the first cold rain,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the surface near to silver from a frosty hill.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Along the weed and grain of log he slides his tail.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Nervously the trout (his stream-toned heart</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">locked in the lake, his poise and nerve disgraced)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">above the stirring catfish, curves in bluegill dreams</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and curves beyond the sudden thrust of bass.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Surface calm and calm act mask the detonating fear,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the moving cray fish claw, the stare</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of sunfish hovering above the cloud-stained sand,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a sucker nudging cans, the grinning maskinonge.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">How do carp resolve the eel and terror here?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">They face so many times this brown-ribbed fall of leaves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">predicting weather foreign as a shark or prawn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and floating still above them in the paling sun.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Richard Hugo</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Our Song"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Stripped vine-stocks, leaves gone red and yellow</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and every beaten-copper, crumpled-leather</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">shade between: the beauties of decay.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">(Sweetheart, that's our song! Play it again!)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Ruth Fainlight</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Forgotten in Autumn"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It was half past seven</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in autumn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and I was waiting</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for someone or other.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial, serif;">Time,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">tired of being there with me,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">little by little left</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and left me alone.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I was left with the sand</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of the day, with the water, </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">wrack</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of a sad week, murdered away.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">'What's gone on?' the leaves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of Paris asked me. 'Who are you waiting for?'</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And a few times I was humiliated,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">first by the light as it left,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">then by dogs, cats and policemen.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I was left alone</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like a solitary horse</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">which knows no night or day in the grass,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">only the salt of winter.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I stayed</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">so alone, so empty</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that the leaves were weeping,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the last ones, and later</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">they fell like tears.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Never before </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or after</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">did I feel so suddenly alone.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It was waiting for someone that did it --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I don't remember,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">it was crazily,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">fleetingly,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and suddenly just loneliness,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that moment,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the sense of something</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">lost along the way,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">which suddenly like the shadow itself</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">spread the long flag of its presence.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Later I fled from that</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">insane corner,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">walking as quickly as possible,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as if running away from the night,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">from a black and rolling boulder.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">What i am telling is nothing,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but it happened to me once while I was waiting</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for someone or other.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Pablo Neruda</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Spanish by Alastair Reid</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"An Autumn Afternoon"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The rich fume of autumn rises from the ground</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">In light and odor as the leaves rot marvelously</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">In the hot autumn sun in the brilliant sunlight.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">What was green is turning to light before my eyes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The hawthorn leaves have not yet fallen away.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The squirrels are fat. The winter is coming soon.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">There's something frantic in birdflight. The shadows of wings</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Print and unprint erratically on the little</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Porch roof that I look out on from my window,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">As if to keep taking back what has just been said.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- David Ferry</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Just Autumn"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>This autumn the trees have peace at last. They stand amid the solid</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">slightly contemptuous greenery, without a shade or yellow, without a grain</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of red in their leaves. The grass is thick, deeply rooted in the earth's skin,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and it in no way reminds one of the fur of aging animals. Uncut roses</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">revolve their warm planets around unmoving insects thin as moons.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>Only the monuments feel this autumn is the more tragic for being the</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">last. Decaying pedestals display the transience of the builders of empire.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Angels' wings and admirals' crests are falling. The philosopher's cracked</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">forehead reveals a terrifying void with burst blood vessels. Where the</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">prophet's pointer finger used to be there now floats a little spider ooked</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to the Indian summer.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><dd>Gray-maned lovers walk under the eternal trees, along a path strewn</dd></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with the brittle fingers of gods and emperors.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Zbigniew Herbert</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Polish by Alissa Valles</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"Autumn Equinox"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I feel my body letting go of light</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">drawn to the wisdom of a harvest moon.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I feel it welcome the lengthening night</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like a lover in early afternoon.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">My dreams are windfall in a field gone wild.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I gather them through all the lengthening night</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and when they have all been carefully piled</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">my body begins letting go of light.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Indian summer to leaf-fall to first frost</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the memories that were carefully piled</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">become the dreams most likely to be lost.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">My dreams are windfall in a field gone wild</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">now that memory has abandoned them,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">now that Indian summer, leaf-fall, first frost</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">have become the same amazing autumn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">skein of those dreams most likely to be lost.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I feel my body letting go of light.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I feel it welcome the lengthening night,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">\the windfall of dreams that have long been lost</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to Indian summer, leaf-fall, and first frost.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Floyd Skloot</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"What Land Means: Autumn 1998"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The Horse Chestnut dies from the bottom up</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the leaf withers from the edge inward.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Until that explosive moment, your heart</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">kept its secret.: No tatters on the summertime of your age.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Youngest sons aren't supposed to leave first.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Didn't you know that? abandoning all.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Overtaking autumnal brothers and sisters, you fell</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">asleep on your feet, the quick stride stilled</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">between house and fields.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The last thing seen, they say, is forever held in memory.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">So you could see those fields still (by times, coasted,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">cultivated, cropped), we planted you</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on the down slope of a hill: Advantage to all your acres,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a family loam richest in you, Great Tree. Hold me</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in view. Wait at the bottom till I coast to you.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">We'll climb up together. Into green branches.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Anne Compton</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>from "Autumn Nature Notes"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>VII</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Three pale foxglove lamp-mantles, in full flare</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Among gritty burned-out spires of old foxgloves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Under needling sleet, in a crossing squall.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">This last week, a baby hand of blossom</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Among the corroded leaves, over windfall apples.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Every apple a festival of small slugs</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Probably things their good time had just started.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">So the old year, tired,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Smiles over his tools, fondling them a little,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">As he puts them away.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Ted Hughes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"October Thoughts"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">How one loves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">this great wine</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that one drinks all alone</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">when the evening illumines its coppered hills</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">not a hunter now</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">stalks the lowland game</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the sisters of our friends</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">seem more beautiful</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">at the same time there is a thread of war</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">an insect pauses</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">then goes on.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Jean Follain</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the French by W. S. Merwin</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Autumn Fires"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Old flower-stems turn to sticks in autumn,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">clutter the garden, need</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the discipline of secateurs.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Choked overplus, straggle of weed,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">cold souring strangling webs of root;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I pile the barrow with the lot.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Snapped twig that forgets flower and fruit,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">thornbranch too hard to rot,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I stack you high for a last rite.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">When twigs are built and match is set,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"> your death springs up like life; its flare</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">crowns and consumes the ended year.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Corruption changes to desire</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that sears the pure and wavering air,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and death goes upward like a prayer.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Judith Wright</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Change"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The maple in first blush,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like an apple on the edge</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of reddening -- so it begins;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Later, something pulls</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the leaves down, sky floods</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the forks of trees.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Spendthrift, the little linden</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">looses the last of its gold,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">clinkless coins for the wind</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to hoard in heaps;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">diehard, the willow clings to its</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">wintry slips of yellow,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">fistfuls of an obsolete</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">currency, see them flutter.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Carpet of crispness! hard rain</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of acorns, spiky</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">chestnut-hulls!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Season of loss and store --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The squirrels, grown plush,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">zip up stuffed tummies</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for winter.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Robyn Sarah</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, serif; ">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div>Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-16718734898582706612009-09-10T18:12:00.011-04:002009-09-10T21:52:13.469-04:00Twelve 12-Line Poems: Round 3<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">For reasons that entirely elude me, the <a href="http://hedgeguard.blogspot.com/2009/02/twelve-12-line-poems.html">first</a> and <a href="http://hedgeguard.blogspot.com/2009/03/twelve-more-12-line-poems.html">second</a> installments</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of "Twelve 12-Line Poems" continue to be the most accessed threads</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of <b>The Jackdaw's Nest</b>. So, in response, here is Round 3. Enjoy.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Still Life"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>Still Life</i> the artist called</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">these pears and apricots</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">placed on a blue tablecloth</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">next to the leather pouch of hares,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">tied by their slender ears</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like so many vegetables.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But <i>nature morte</i>, the French</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">would say, articulating "dead"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as if to tell us life is less</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">than life without a hare in the field,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">without the actual taste</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of pear on the tongue.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Linda Pastan</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Minus The Sea"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Each day the old man grew smaller and smaller.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Matter had begun to apologize</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Politely in him</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And moved back more and more --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It had to catch its breath</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">For another form.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The sea the old man fished in</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Shrank day by day</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Until in the end it couldn't be seen at all.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It must have moved its waves as well, full of fish,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">God knows where.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Under some younger boats . . .</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">--Marin Sorescu</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Romanian by Gabriela Dragnea, </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Stuart Friebert and Adriana Varga</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Spitballer"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A poet because his hand</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">goes first to his heart and then to his head.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The catcher receives the pitch</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the way a blotter takes an ink spill.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The hitter makes much show</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of wringing out his bat.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">On the mound he grins</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">with all his teeth at once</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">when the umpire inspects the ball</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">suddenly dry as alum.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">He draws a juicy salary bonus</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">because when he pitches he waters the lawn.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Fred Chappell</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"The Clock"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I tick, I tick, and have no sense of time.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">My hands go round. At intervals I chime</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">To count the hours and minutes that to me</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Are meaningless numbers turning endlessly,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Because my world is one without a 'when',</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Without a 'late' or 'early', 'now' or 'then',</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">With no events, with nothing to arrange</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Or mark. Your time is movement, growth and change.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I do not change or grow, but for your sake</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Inside me wheels revolve until I break.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It's you that move me. If you don't I stick.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You wind me up. I tick, I tick, I tick.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Michael Hamburger</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"The Pond at Dusk"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A fly wounds the water but the wound</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">soon heals. Swallows tilt and twitter</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">overhead, dropping now and then toward</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the outward-radiating evidence of food.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The green haze on the trees changes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">into leaves, and what looks like smoke</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">floating over the neighbor's barn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">is only apple blossoms.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But sometimes what looks like disaster</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><i>is</i> disaster: the day comes at last,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and the men struggle with the casket</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">just clearing the pews.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">--Jane Kenyon</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"All Thought"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">What's all this commotion, as of</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">king-wings in migration</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a strange fluttering in the boughs</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the great night of souls</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">In the little oak grove</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">out back the dying</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">plum is choked out</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">by the young oak</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Above, the vast blue</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">climbed by a cloud-wall</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">]suggests all thought's</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">supplanted</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Tom Clark</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"The Hand at Callow Hill Farm"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Silence. the man defined</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The quality, ate at his separate table</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Silent, not because silence was enjoined</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But was his nature. It shut him round</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Even at outdoor tasks, his speech</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Following upon a pause, as though</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A hesitance to comply had checked it --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Yet comply he did, and willingly:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Pause and silence: both</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Were essential graces, a reticence</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Of the blood, whose calm concealed</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The tutelary of that upland field.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Charles Tomlinson</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Picture"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The woods a flock of green sheep flowing down the hills</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And the sea below splashed itself itself blue in the sun.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Clouds bloomed in the sky, floating like water lilies</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And we were still little girls.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">There was one among us with beloved eyes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And all of us envied her till we forgot.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and one was so fair and stood up so straight.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And when they called her in class, she could always reply.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And I'd go out in the sun to the nearby field</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And love the clouds, spin stories about them all,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And I had plenty of time to ponder sorrow</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">From the first gray of autumn till the end of summer gold.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Dahlia Ravikovitch</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Hebrew by Chana Bloch and Chana Kronfeld</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Poem"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Tempestuous breaths! we watch a girl</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">walking in her garden -- no flowers, a wintry shrub</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and the cold clouds passing over. To</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">each dark check a chapped panting mouth is pressed</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and through the cloth against her flesh</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">she feels the flashes of our heat. One breath,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">heavier than the rest, is penetrating</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the folds where her cool limbs join each other</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in careless reception of the celebration.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">She is listening to music. And I, I</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">have joined that torso to that thigh with this,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">my breath, soot from a volcano, watching her walk.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Frank O'Hara</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Bogliasco: The Church Square"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">A photographer develops film,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the sexton scrutinizes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">walls and trees,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">boys play ball,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a dry cleaner purges the conscience</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of this quiet town,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">three elderly ladies discuss the world's end -- </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but evening brings back</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the sea's tumult</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and its din</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">returns the day just past</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">into oblivion.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">--Adam Zagajewski</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Poem"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It is not lost, it is moving forward always,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Shrewd, and huge as thunder, equally dark.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Soft paws kiss its continents, it walks</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Between lava avenues, it does not tire.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It is not lost, tell me how can you lose it?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Can you lose the shadow which stalks the sun?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It feeds on mountains, it feeds on seas,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It loves you most when you are most alone.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">do not deny it, do not blaspheme it,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">do not light matches on the dark of its shores.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It will breathe you out, it will recede from you.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">What is here, what is with you now, is yours.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Gwendolyn MacEwen</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"On the Steps of the Met"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">When the first wasp would not stop flying near me I sat still</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and let it stay. All thin legs and yellow, it did not find my skin</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but the silvered mouth of the Pepsi can. It crawled inside</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and then another joined it there. I let those two</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">fill themselves while I finished my greasy knish and thought</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">how I would soon not be here and how painful</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">not wanting anyone. One wasp staggered out</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and flew, and the the other, and in Manhattan</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">they were two cabs on their way in one direction. Inside,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">what I had loved most: the folds of the woman's scarf</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in Vermeer's portrait, their depth of shadow,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">how the fabric came so close without touching.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Stephanie Bolster</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-53424810640840661352009-09-01T22:46:00.013-04:002009-09-02T00:50:33.135-04:00Twelve Nature Poems<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Queen Anne's Lace"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It's a kind of flower</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that if you didn't know it</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you'd pass by the rest of your life.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But once it's been pointed out</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you'll look for it always,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">even in places</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">where you know it can't possibly be.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You'll never tire</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of bending over to examine,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of marveling at this</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">shyest filigree of wonder</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">born among grasses.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">You'll imagine poems</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as brief, as spare,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">so natural with themselves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as to take your breath away.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Raymond Souster</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"The Beloved Hemorrhaged Anemones"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The beloved hemorrhaged anemones,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the purple land glittered with his wounds,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the first of its songs: the blood of love shed by gods,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and the last of it is blood . . .</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">O people of Canaan celebrate</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">your land's spring and set yourself aflame</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like its flowers, O people of Canaan stripped</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of your weapons, and become complete!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It's your good luck that you chose agriculture as a profession.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It's your bad luck that you chose the gardens</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">near god's borders,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">where the sword writes clay's tale . . .</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">So let the grain spikes be your eternal army,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and let immortality be hunting dogs</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in wheat fields,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and let the stags be free</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like a pastoral poem . . .</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The beloved hemorrhaged anemones,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and the rocks on the slope yellowed from </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">prolonged labour contractions,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">then turned red,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">then water flowed red</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in our spring's veins . . .</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The first of our songs is the blood of love</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that gods shed,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and the lest is the blood shed by iron gods . . .</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Mahmoud Darwish</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Arabic by Fady Joudah</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Earth Tremors Felt in Missouri"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The quake last night was nothing personal,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you told me this morning. I think one always wonders,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">unless, of course, something is visible: tremors</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that take us, private and willy-nilly, are usual.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But the earth said last night that what I feel,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">you feel; what secretly moves you, moves me.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">One small, sensuous catastrophe</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">makes inklings letters, spelled in a worldly tremble.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The earth, with others on it, turns in its course</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as we turn toward each other, less than ourselves, gross,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">mindless, more than we were. Pebbles, we swell</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to planets, nearing the universal roll,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in our conceit even comprehending the sun,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">whose bright ordeal leaves cool men woebegone.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Mona Van Duyn</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"White-Faced Heron"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The white-faced heron seems grammar and action</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as the sun sharpens poise and balance,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">solitary in a field provokes a reaction.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Clots and twists of cloud confuse the fraction,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">divisible quantity of math and trance,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the white-faced heron seems grammar and action.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The surety of her being creates an equation,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">dawn and sunset trigger clairvoyance,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">solitary in a field provokes a reaction.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">We invest ourselves in her volatile station,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">formulate moods on the fact of her presence,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the white-faced heron seems grammar and action.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">It's the pattern of speech we define as tension,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the hope of her being there, the thrill of chance,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">solitary in a field provokes a reaction.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Language shapes a waterbird's intention,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">pasture and water shape her stance,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the white-faced heron seems grammar and action,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">solitary in a field provokes a reaction.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- John Kinsella </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Creek Trout"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Silver, dark-spotted, each spot with a pale halo,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">its sides striped with a rainbow band,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">it is a flawless swimmer, and knows its way perfectly</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">through the water, as if its smooth, quick body</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">could feel the length of the creek,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">from the mountain-side source of heavy rain to the inlet-meeting mouth.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">To see the trout, to gaze after it</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as the doors of the water open before it,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as the innumerable chambers of the creek open before it,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">each chamber flowing through the other,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">each new exultation, a new feeling of the touch of the creek,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a new entering and entering,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">is to look through water</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in which the trout becomes a single brilliant journeying grain,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a darting purplish ray, a piece of the voluptuous refuse of the first stars,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a glimpse of a crystal look,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and ;it is to look through the trout</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">as through a living lens, imagining what the trout knows --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">through flesh wholly a vivid eye,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">blind sight seeing light before it shines --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">before the trout as soon disappears</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">behind the final door of the water,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">shimmering, shadowy traces, connecting up all its traces</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">somewhere on the other side of the world.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Russell Thornton</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"plum-branch galaxy"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">plum-branch galaxy</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">hoarfrost dark grasses</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">breath, sounding web</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">thistle listen cloud</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">moth quicken fire</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">seed silver, mirage</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a wind mirror pond</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">shine white hyacinth</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">--Ronald Johnson</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"The Silence of Plants"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Our one-sided acquaintance</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">grows quite nicely.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I know what a leaf, petal, ear, cone, stalk is,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">what april and December do to you.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Although my curiosity is not reciprocal,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I specially stoop over some of you,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and crane my neck at others.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I've got a list of names for you:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">maple, burdock, hepatica,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">mistletoe, heath, juniper, forget-me-not,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but you have none for me.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">We're traveling together.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But fellow passengers usually chat,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">exchange remarks at least about the weather,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">or about the stations rushing past.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">We wouldn't lack for topics: we've got a lot in common.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The same star keeps us in its reach.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">We cast shadows based on the same laws.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">We try to understand things, each in our own way,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and what we don't know brings us closer too.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I'll explain as best I can, just ask me:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">what seeing with two eyes is like,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">what my heart beats for,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and why my body isn't rooted down.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But how to answer unasked questions,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">while being furthermore a being so totally</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a nobody to you.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Undergrowth, coppices, meadows, rushes --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">everything I tell you is a monologue,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and its not you who listens.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Talking with you is essential and impossible.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Urgent in this hurried life</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and postponed to never.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Wislawa Szymborska</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Polish by Stanislaw Baranczak and Clare Cavanagh</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Pale Butterwort"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Pale butterwort's smoky blue colours your eyes:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I thought of this when I tried to put together</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Your every feature, but a buzzard distracted me</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">As it quartered the tree-tops and added its skraik</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Or screel to the papery purr of the dragonflies'</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Love-flight, and with so much happening overhead</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I forgot the pale butterwort there on the ground</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Spreading its leaves like a starfish and digesting</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Insects that squirm on each adhesive tongue and</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Feed the terror in your eyes, your smoky blue eyes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">--Michael Longley</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"With Quevedo, In Springtime"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Everything has flowered in</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">these fields, apple trees,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">hesitant blues, yellow weeds,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and in green grass the poppies thrive.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The inextinguishable sky, the new air</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of each day, the invisible shine within,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that gift of a wide and vast springtime.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">But spring hasn't come to my room.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Diseases, dubious kisses,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that stuck like the church's ivy</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to the black windows of my life,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and love alone is never enough, not even the wild</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and expansive fragrance of spring.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">And, to you, what can these mean now:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the orgiastic light, the evidence unfolding</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">like a flower, the green song</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the green leaves, the presence</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of the sky with its goblet of freshness?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">External spring, do not torment me,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">unleashing wine and snow in my arms,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">corolla and battered bouquet of sorrow,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">just for today give me the sleep of nocturnal</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">leaves, the night of the dead, the metals, the roots</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and so many extinguished springtimes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">that awaken to life every spring.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Pablo Neruda</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">translated from the Spanish by William O'Daly</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"On a Church Lawn"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Dandelion cavalry, light little saviors,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">baffle the wind, they ride so light.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">They surround a church and outside the window</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">utter their deaf little cry: "If you listen</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">well, music won't have to happen."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">After service they depart singly</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">to mention in the world their dandelion faith:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">"God is not big; He is right."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">--William Stafford</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Once More"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Once more by the brook the alder leaves</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">turn mauve, bronze, violet, beautiful</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">after the green of crude summer; galled</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">black stems, pithy, tangled, twist in the</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">flesh-colored vines of wild cyclamen.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Mist drifts below the mountaintop</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in prismatic tatters. The brook is full,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">spilling down heavily, loudly, in silver</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">spate from the beaver ponds in the high</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">marshy meadows. the year is sinking:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">heavily, loudly, beautifully. Deer move</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">heavily in the brush like bears, half drunk</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">on masty acorns and rotten wild apples.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">The pileated woodpecker thumps a dead elm</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">slowly, irregularly, meditatively.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Like a broken telephone a cricket rings</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">without assertion in dead asters and</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">goldenrod; asters gone cloudy with seed,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">goldenrod burnt and blackened. A gray trout</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">rests under the lip of glacial stone. One</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">by one the alder leaves plunge down to earth,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">veering, and lie there, glowing, like a shirt</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">of Nessus. My heart in my ribs does what it</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">has done occasionally all my life: thumps and</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">heaves suddenly in irregular rhythm that makes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">me gasp. How many times has this season turned</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">and gone down? How many! I move heavily</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">into the bracken, and the deer stand still</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">a moment, uncertain, before they break away,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">snorting and bounding heavily before me.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">-- Hayden Carruth</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>"Upset, Unable to Sleep, I Go for a Walk and</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><b>Stumble Upon Some Geese"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Bright dime</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">cut in two, one half</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in the sky, the other fallen on the pond,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">but no one will bother to pick it up,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">the moon will never be whole again.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">Up and down the grassy hillocks</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">they follow one another, walking</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">in groups under the grey glow.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I haven't even startled them, this is no hour</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">for a human. Together here they act</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">differently, like themselves,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">warm-blooded, clumsy, bitching</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">at one another in a common language.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I wish I were asleep. They are large and warm.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">I'd like to hold one of them,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">hold, be held.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">--Roo Borson</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;"> </span></div>Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-69089775510474859122009-08-12T19:32:00.012-04:002009-08-12T20:45:48.922-04:00Twelve Assorted Poems<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><b>"God of Missed Connections"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">I</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">f</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">t</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">h</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">e</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">m</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">i</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">n</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">d</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">i</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">s</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">v</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">s</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">t</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">n</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">d</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">e</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">m</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">p</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">t</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">y</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">p</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">l</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">i</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">n</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">o</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">f</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">s</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">t</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">o</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">n</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">e</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">n</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">o</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">t</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">h</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">i</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">n</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">g</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">s</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">t</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">i</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">c</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">k</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">s</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">n</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">o</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">t</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">h</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">i</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">n</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">g</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">s</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">t</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">y</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">s</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> T</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">h</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">e</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">f</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">l</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">o</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">o</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">r</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">'</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">s</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">w</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">o</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">r</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">n</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">down (as if such stone could wear). There's more</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, fantasy;">where that came from, friend. More nothing. No,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">the metaphor's all wrong. The mind is smooth</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">as split obsidian. Look in. The glass is black,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">it won't look back. It's a thing, neither human,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">nor animal, nor the two entwined. No twilit bulk</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">to skulk the uninterrupted horizon. Others</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">populate their poems with things, look to their lives</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">as evidence: to what do I owe, to whom? We look</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">on this geology. It shrinks back through the trees.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">--Elizabeth Bachinsky</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><b>"Lazybones"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">They will continue wandering,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">these things of steel among the stars,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">and worn-out men will still go up</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">to brutalize the placid moon.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">There, they will found their pharmacies.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">In this time of the swollen grape,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">the wind begins to come to life</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">between the sea and the mountain ranges.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">In Chile now, cherries are dancing,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">the dark secretive girls are singing,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">and in guitars, water is shining.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">The sun is touching every door</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">and making wonder of the wheat.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">The first wine is pink in colour,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">is sweet with the sweetness of a child,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">the second wine is able-bodied,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">strong like the voice of a sailor,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">the third wine is a topaz, is</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">a poppy and a fire in one.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">My house has both the sea and the earth,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">my woman has great eyes</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">the colour of wild hazelnut,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">when night comes down,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">the sea puts on a dress of white and green,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">and later the moon in the spindrift foam</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">dreams like a sea-green girl.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">I have no wish to change my planet.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">-- Pablo Neruda</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">translated from the Spanish by Alastair Reid</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><b>"E-Mail from an Owl"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">The irrigation system wants it to be known it <i>irrigates</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">The garden, </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">It doesn't water it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">It is a stickler about this!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Watering is something done by hand.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Automated catering naturally</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Does a better job than a hand with a watering can can.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Devised in Israel to irrigate their orange groves,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">It gives life everywhere in the desert of life it goes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">It drips water to the chosen, one zone at a time.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Drip us this day our daily bread, or, rather, this night,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Since a drop on a leaf in direct sunlight can make</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">A magnifying glass that burns an innocent at the stake.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">The sprinkler system hisses kisses on a timer</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Under an exophthalmic sky of stars.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Tonight my voice will stare at you forever.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">I click on Send,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">And send you this perfumed magic hour.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">--Frederick Seidel</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><b>"The Woods"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">At one time your touches were clothing enough.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Within these trees now I am different.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Now I wear the woods.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">I lower a headdress of bent sticks and secure it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">I strap to myself a breastplate of clawed, roped bark.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">I fit the broad leaves of sugar maples</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">to my hands, like mittens of blood.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Now when I say <i>come</i>,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">and you enter the woods,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">hunting some creature like the woman I was,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">I surround you.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Light bleeds form the clearing. Roots rise.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Fluted molds burn blue in the falling light,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">and you also know</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">the loneliness that you taught me with your body.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">When you lie down in the grave of a slashed tree,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">I cover you, as I always did.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Only this time you do not leave.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">-- Louise Erdrich</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><b>"Clothing Eunices"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">I have visited every last porn site on the web</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">but I am not yet depraved only depressed</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">I mean who need Joe Bob's Blow Jobs</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">banners that spell it amature</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">who needs Schoolgirl Panties Anal Antics Ungulate Swingers</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">I want a site that shows only women named Eunice</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">all of them dressed up to attend PTA</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">standing before dignified fireplaces</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">smiling gravely</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">(well, maybe one of them could wear a jaunty hat)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">just thinking about it gets me really hot</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">-- Fred Chappell</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><b>"Proverbial"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">The birds are up early; it's rush hour on the lawn,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">and cars fly over the bridges and into the city</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">in spite of the burnings. I know the true worth</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">of the sayings my grandmother served up with the lasagna.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">My grandmother saw the trees, as did my mother. Father</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">was alone in the forest. Meanwhile, we children</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">were raised by wolves; two wrongs</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">don't make a right are the directions to my house.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">But even the blind chicken finds</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">the kernel of corn, even the unhatched eggs</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">wobble in their basket and promise</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">to one day explode into swans,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">however modest or far away.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">--Kim Addonizio</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><b>"Small Objects"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">My contemporaries like small objects,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">dried starfish that have forgotten the sea,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">melancholy stopped clocks, postcards</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">sent from vanished cities,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">and blackened with illegible script,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">in which they discern words</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">like "yearning," "illness," or "the end."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">They marvel at dormant volcanoes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">They don't desire light.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">-- Adam Zagajewski</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><b>"October Morning"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Down in the garden hoar frost has fallen;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">my children play on trails they have made.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">the youngest my daughter</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">holds in her hand what cannot be held.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">I should tell her --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">It's not real. It's not even snow.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">I should warn my foolish, excitable daughter.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">I had no daughter.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">The memory is old grey and wrong.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">I was the daughter and</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">she never warned me.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Hoar frost is such a lie.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">-- Anne Compton</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><b>"The Clothes Shrine"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">It was a whole new sweetness</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">In the early days to find</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Light white muslin blouses</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">On a see-through nylon line</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Drip-drying in the bathroom</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Or a nylon slip in the shine</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Of its own electricity --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">As if St. Brigid once more</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Had rigged up a ray of sun</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Like the one she'd strung on air</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">To dry her own cloak on</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">(Hard-pressed Brigid, so</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Unstoppably on the go) --</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">The damp and slump and unfair</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Drag of the workaday</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Made light of and got through</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">As usual, brilliantly.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">-- Seamus Heaney</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><b>"Song"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">To enter the real,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">how far</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">must we feel beyond</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">the world in which we already are?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">It is all here</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">but we are not. If we could see</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">and hear only half</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">the flawed symphony,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">we might cease</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">nervously to infer</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">the intentions of</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">an unimaginable author</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">and sand,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">senses and tongues unbound,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">in the spaces of that land</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">our fathers brought us to,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">where, what will be well</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">or not well,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">only time</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">or time's undoing can tell.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">--Charles Tomlinson</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><b>"Standing Here Beside You"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">Standing here beside you makes me sad.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">You're like a house I watch the windows of</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">knowing I can never go inside.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">I see a woman passing to and fro</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">and envy her the freedom I can't have.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">I only watch. And you?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">You're watching too, frozen</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">in your prison of white flowers.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">-- Selima Hill</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><b>"Sketch in October"</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">The tugboat is freckled with rust. What's it doing here so far inland?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">It's a heavy extinguished lamp in the cold.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">But the trees have wild colors: signals to the other shore.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">As if someone wanted to be fetched.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">On my way home I see mushrooms sprouting through the grass.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">They are the fingers, stretching for help, of someone</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">who has long been sobbing alone down in the darkness.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">We are the earth's.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">-- Tomas Transtromer</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">translated from the Danish by Robin Fulton</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;">* * *</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, -webkit-fantasy;"><br /></span></div>Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20115635.post-1698265994538540342009-07-21T07:05:00.010-04:002009-10-08T12:08:26.166-04:00Index to "The Jackdaw's Nest"<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 20px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 1px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 1px; font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman';font-size:13px;"><div id="post_message_485484">Someone asked for an index of posts to my <a href="http://hedgeguard.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 153); ">Jackdaw's Nest</a> blog. It proved far too cumbersome and time-consuming to post separate links to all 80+ posts, so I've provided the dates; if you go down the left-hand margin of the blog, you'll see <b>"Archives"</b> arranged by month, and you can click on the relevant month to access whatever posts are listed for that month.<br /><br /><br /><b>Individual Poets <i>(2005 - 2006)</i>:</b><br />12/23/05 Henrik Nordbrandt (Denmark)<br />12/24/05 Miroslav Holub (Czechslovakia)<br />12/27/05 Lorna Goodison (Jamaica)<br />12/30/05 Marin Sorescu (Romania)<br />1/03/06 Lorna Goodison II (Jaimaca)<br />1/07/06 Chairil Anwar (Indonesia)<br />1/11/06 Tasrima Nasrin (Bangladesh)<br />1/14/06 Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresan (Portugal)<br />1/19/06 Vasko Popa (Serbia)<br />1/25/06 Anna Swir (Poland)<br />1/30/06 Shu Ting (China)<br />2/07/06 Faiz Ahmed Faiz (Pakistan)<br />2/14/06 Carlos Drummond de Andrade (Brazil)<br />2/17/06 Christopher Okigbo (Nigeria)<br />2/21/06 Tadeusz Rozewicz (Poland)<br />3/05/06 Mahmoud Darwish (Palestine)<br />3/11/06 Gyorgy Petri (Hungary)<br />3/20/06 Claribel Alegria (Nicaragua)<br />6/04/06 Shuntaro Tanikawa (Japan)<br />6/14/06 Nijole Miliauskaite (Lithuania)<br /><br /><b>Mini-Anthologies:</b><br /><br /><b><i>2006</i></b>:<br />8/13/06 An Onion Bouquet<br />8/18/06 A Short Collection of Short Canadian Poems<br />9/08/06 A Baker's Dozen of Canadian Sonnets<br />10/04/06 A Small Petting Zoo of Animal Poems<br />10/14/06 Some October Poems<br />10/31/06 Some November Poems<br />11/13/06 Poems With Red In Them<br />11/17/06 Some Long, Skinny Poems<br />11/30/06 Some December Poems<br />12/15/06 Poems with Rain<br />12/31/06 Some January Poems<br /><br /><b><i>2007</i></b>:<br />1/13/07 Some Ekphrastic Poems<br />3/11/07 Some Poems with the Moon in Them<br />3/30/07 Some "To" Poems<br />5/05/07 Some Canadian Poems with Birds<br />5/27/07 21 More Canadian Poems<br />6/02/07 Some Poems from Prize-Winning Collections<br />6/11/07 Some Poems I've Liked Recently<br />7/03/07 Some Poems by Canadian Women<br />7/21/07 Some More Poems I've Liked Recently<br />8/04/07 12 Short Poems<br />8/09/07 20 Short Poems<br />10/04/07 Some Poems by Poets from the Caribbean<br />10/20/07 For Halloween: "Fungi from Yuggoth"<br />10/27/07 For Halloween II: "Sonnets of the Midnight Hours"<br />11/08/07 Some Poems with 3-Line Stanzas<br />11/17/07 Some Title Poems from Collections<br />12/11/07 Some Poems Translated from Other Languages<br />12/15/07 Some More Short Poems<br /><br /><b><i>2008</i></b>:<br />1/11/08 A Dozen Poems I've Enjoyed<br />1/29/08 Two Short Poems by Mimi Khalvati<br />2/14/08 Some Poems by Poets from the U. K<br />3/05/08 Some Poems With One-Word Titles<br />3/17/08 Some Poems with Trees in Them<br />4/17/08 A Dozen Poems by Australian Poets<br />5/06/08 Another Dozen Poems I Like<br />5/30/08 Fifteen Sonnets<br />7/03/08 Some Poems with Gardens<br />7/23/08 Some Poems from First Collections<br />9/05/08 Some Poems About Love by Women<br />9/22/08 12 More Poems I've Liked<br />10/06/08 Some Poems with Assorted Fruit<br />10/15/08 Some Poems with Various Body Parts<br />11/04/08 Twenty Four-Line Poems and Two More<br />11/29/08 Twenty Poems by Poets for Other Poets<br />12/08/08 Against the Dark: Some Poems with Light for the Winter Solstice<br /><br /><b><i>2009</i></b>:<br />1/01/09 Some Poems I Liked in 2008<br />1/22/09 Some Poems with Bugs in Them<br />2/09/09 Twelve 12-Line Poems<br />2/16/09 Some Seaside Poems<br />3/01/09 Some Poems Fewer Than 10 Lines Long<br />3/09/09 Some Poems by Poets of Diverse Origins<br />3/20/09 Some Poems with Titles Beginning with the Letter "P"<br />3/25/09 Twelve More 12-Line Poems<br />4/17/09 Twelve Poems with Stars In Them<br />5/07/09 Some Short Poems<br />5/15/09 More Poems by Caribbean Poets<br />6/02/09 Fourteen Sonnets<br />6/18/09 Twelve 3-Line Poems<br />7/08/09 Twenty Poems with Numbers in Them<br /></div><div>8/12/09 Twelve Assorted Poems<br />9/01/09 Twelve Nature Poems</div><div>9/10/09 Twelve 3-Line Poems: Round 3</div><div>9/23/09 Fifteen Autumn Poems</div><div>10/07/09 Twelve Short Canadian Poems</div><div>_____________</div></span></div>Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03073063597585826524noreply@blogger.com0