The RetroLounge Daily Poem Thread (Tue 6/27/06)

Writing in the Dark

It's not difficult.
Anyway, it's necesary.

Wait till morning, and you'll forget.
And who knows if morning will come.

Fumble for the light,
and you'll be
stark awake, but the vision
will be fading, slipping
our of reach.

You must have paper at hand,
a felt-tip pen, ballpoints don't always flow,
pencil points tend to break. There's nothing
shameful in that much prudence: those are our tools.

Never mind about crossing your t's, dotting your i's-
but take care not to cover
one word with the next. Practice will reveal
how one hand instinctively comes to the aid of the other
to keep each line
clear of the next.

Keep writing in the dark:
a record of the night, or
words that pulled you from the depths of unknowing,
words that flew through your mind, strange birds
crying their urgency with human voices,

or opened
as flowers of a tree that blooms
only once in a lifetime:

words that may have the power
to make the sun rise again.

Denise Levertov

********************

RL

If you have a request for a certain Poet, post their name in the thread and I will find a poem by them and post it...

if you want to see some of my poetry, see the blog at:
http://www.myspace.com/retropaul

DUST

Someone spoke to me last night,
told me the truth. Just a few words,
but I recognized it.
I knew I should make myself get up,
write it down, but it was late,
and I was exhausted from working
all day in the garden, moving rocks.
Now, I remember only the flavor--
not like food, sweet or sharp.
More like a fine powder, like dust.
And I wasn't elated or frightened,
but simply rapt, aware.
That's how it is sometimes--
God comes to your window,
all bright light and black wings,
and you're just too tired to open it.
--Dorianne Laux

:hi:

That's how it is sometimes--
God comes to your window,
all bright light and black wings,
and you're just too tired to open it.

:sigh:

RL

:sigh:

now I need to find some of her books...

:hi:

RL

I'll PM you something from it.

and more by Kim too...

RL

I suppose I could order them, but then there goes my excuse to hang out in bookstores. :)

I am a very tactile person, want to touch what I buy...

RL

this is all so true, so beautiful, and so god-damn practical at the same time!

flowers of a tree that blooms only once in a lifetime

(and only for you--unless you write in the dark)

Now I'm busted. I saw things last night of such singular strangeness and beauty, it was cinematic and also detailed and coherent.

Almost all gone.

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree . . . :sigh:


Hi, pal. :hi: :hug:

:hi:

RL

Thanks for posting it. :hug:

I was up until 5:30 this morning. Insomnia's back with a vengeance. :(

:hug:

RL