Saturday, January 20, 2007

Louise Glück



The Red Poppy


The great thing
is not having
a mind. Feelings:
oh, I have those; they
govern me. I have
a lord in heaven
called the sun, and open
for him, showing him
the fire of my own heart, fire
like his presence.
What could such glory be
if not a heart? Oh my brothers and sisters,
were you like me once, long ago,
before you were human? Did you
permit yourselves
to open once, who would never
open again? Because in truth
I am speaking now
the way you do. I speak
because I am shattered.


-----------------------------------------
From The Wild Iris, published by The Ecco Press, 1992.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I've always loved this one. Thanks, I need to read this collection again.

Nick said...

The first line kinda reeled me in and the last one pushed all the right buttons. Good read!

Anonymous said...

Amazing what can be done in such a deliberately "plain" voice.