The BlueIris Semi-Nightly Poetry Break, 8/14/08

[BlueIris]

"The Racer's Widow"

The elements have merged into solicitude.
Spasms of violets rise above the mud
And weed, and soon the birds and ancients
Will be starting to arrive, bereaving points
South. But never mind. It is not painful to discuss
His death. I have been primed for this—
For separation—for so long. But still his face assaults
Me; I can hear that car career again, the crowd coagulate on asphalt
In my sleep. And watching him, I feel my legs like snow
That let him finally let him go
And he lies draining there. And see
How even he did not get to keep that lovely body.

—Louise Glück

[BlueIris]

1. The companion piece to this poetry break, which for some odd reason never made it into my journal,

is here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x6829949

And, well, here:

"Precision"

for Brad Hornell, who died at Sears Point Raceway
on August 14, 1983

The day you flew in perfect arc
from your motorcycle was the same day
I broke the perfect formation of your women
at the railing, leaving behind
your grandmother and mother, to run
and jump the fence. The stop watch hanging
from my neck, suspended between gravity
and momentum, swung its perfect pendulum.

All our motion was brought to conclusion
by your broken body at rest
on the ground. Your breath never rose
to the oxygen placed on your face
and your heart never rallied
to the arms pressing your chest.
You wore the perfect clothes:
the ashy grey of death.

At the hospital they said your failure to survive
was complete. Though I never saw
the neck you perfectly broke or your body
cleanly draped by a sheet, I did see
your dead face bruising up at me
and for lack of something moving to touch,
I clutched the stop watch
which had not died.
If any nurse or doctor had asked,
I could have told exactly,
to the hundreths of seconds, how long
it had been since I'd seen you alive.

—Laurie Duesing

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. My dear BlueIris...

Oh, how beautiful...

And poignant...

I really like this one!

Thank you...

:hug:

[Chan790]

3. How sad and beautiful.

:(

[RetroLounge]

4. Nice.

My favorite Poet Laureate...

She did NOTHING. :rofl:

RL

[BlueIris]

5. Mt favorite is still Rita Dove. nt