asleep in the hollows of its rigging, waiting to be stirred

Gabriel-isak-moon-solitude

[…]

Always tempted, what a sad
combination of words. And so
you take a walk into the neighborhood,
where the rhododendrons are out
and also some yellowy things

and the lilacs remind you of a song
by Nina Simone. “Where’s my love?”
is its refrain. Up near Gravel Hill
two fidgety deer cross the road,
whitetails, exactly where

the week before a red fox
made a more confident dash.
Now and then the world rewards,
and so you make your way back

past the careful lawns, the drowsy backyards,
knowing the soul on its own
is helpless, asleep in the hollows
of its rigging, waiting to be stirred.

~ Stephen Dunn, from “And So


Credits: Poem: A Pair of Ragged Claws. Photograph: gabriel isak

8 thoughts on “asleep in the hollows of its rigging, waiting to be stirred

  1. Ahhh, Stephen Dunn, one of my *favorites*. Check out the collection “New and Selected Poems 1974-1994” — some fabulous pieces there. ‘A Secret Life’ and ‘Some Things I Wanted to Say to You’ are both lovely….

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