solstice V

MALHEUR BEFORE DAWN

An owl sound wandered
along the road with me.
I didn’t hear it —
I breathed it into my ears.

Little ones at first,
the stars retired, leaving
polished little circles on the sky for awhile.








Then the sun began to shout
from below the horizon.
Throngs of birds campaigned,
their music a tent of sound.







From across a pond, out of the mist,
one drake made a V and said its name.

Some vast animal of air began to rouse
from the reeds and lean outward.






Frogs discovered their
national anthem again.
I didn’t know a ditch could hold
so much joy.




So magic a time it was that I was both brave and afraid.
Some day like this
might save the world.

William Stafford

from Even In Quiet Places © 1996

solitaire

Yet, O my soul supreme!
Know’st thou the joys
of pensive thought?
Joys of the free and
lonesome heart—
the tender, gloomy heart?
Joy of the solitary walk—
the spirit bowed yet proud—
the suffering and the struggle?
The agonistic throes,
the extasies—
joys of the solemn musings, day or night?


walt whitman
leaves of grass
1900

(genjiro ito,1901;
shotei hiroaki, 1930;
toulouse-lautrec, 1892;
henri boutet 1895)