Poetry Friday: Ex Libris
September 18th, 2009 by eisha
Happy Fall, ya’ll. This is my very favorite time of year, and I just want to revel in it. So I’m not going to say much here, I’m just going to share a lovely little jewel of a poem with you that evokes the beauty of the season, with just a wee tinge of melancholy over the winter to come. It’s “Ex Libris” by Eleanor Wilner:
By the stream, where the ground is soft
and gives, under the slightest pressure—even
the fly would leave its footprint here
and the paw of the shrew the crescent
of its claws like the strokes of a chisel
in clay; where the lightest chill, lighter
than the least rumor of winter, sets the reeds
to a kind of speaking, and a single drop of rain
leaves a crater to catch the first silver
glint of sun when the clouds slide away
from each other like two tired lovers,
and the light returns, pale, though brightened
by the last chapter of late autumn:
copper, rusted oak, gold aspen, and the red
pages of maple…
Click here to read the rest. Enjoy.
Looking for more? Becky’s Book Reviews is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday round-up.
Oh, what a gorgeous poem, Eisha! Fall is also my favorite time of year (although awfully short here in California) and this poem captures it perfectly – “the still open book of earth…” This is my new favorite poem for the season. Thank you.
Phenomenal. Every soft footfall of it.
Thank you.
That picture is absolutely gorgeous!
Jill, YES! I loved the book imagery too.
sara, so glad you liked it too.
Brenda, isn’t it? I linked to the photographer’s webpage, check it out.
Oh, this is lovely. Fall is my favorite season, too. I love all of this, but I’m esp. taken with:
single drop of rain
leaves a crater to catch the first silver
glint of sun