Politeness fades,
a small anchovy gleam
leaving the upturned pot in the dish rack
after the moon has wandered out the window.
One of the late freedoms, there is the dark.
The leftover soup put away as well.
Distinctions matter. Whether a goat's
quiet face should be called nobleor indifferent.
The difference between a right rigor and pride.
The untranslatable thought must be the most precise.
Yet words are not the end of thought,
they are where it begins.
~ Jane Hirshfield
from After
6 comments:
I do like this poem.Grazie.
Who is Jane Hirschfield ?
thanks, glad you enjoyed it.
Poet Jane Hirshfield was born in New York City in 1953. She was in the first graduating class at Princeton University to include women. She went on to study at the San Francisco Zen Center. Her many books include “After,” “Given Sugar, Given Salt” and “The Lives of the Heart.”
I've posted an interview with Jane below on this site.
Good to hear from you.
Merci.Je viens de regarder l'interview que vous avez posté.
I shall order some of her books of poem from the Red Wheelbarrow , my favourite american bookshop in Paris.
you are most welcome, glad you enjoyed it. I especially enjoy her offerings in "After" and "The Lives of the Heart."
who are your favorite poets?
thanks for your comments.
Bonjour smilingheart.
Rainer-Maria Rilke,Vladimir Holan,Federico Garcia Lorca,Trakl, Nicolas Bouvier,T.S.Eliot, Philippe Jacottet, Keats,Holderlin, Rimbaud.
are the ones that come to my mind now (dans le désordre )
What about yours?
thanks, good list, a couple there I don't know well and will look into.
guess my list on this blog is what I've enjoyed most for the past few years.
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