The Almanac of Last
Things
From the almanac of last
things
I choose the spider lily
for the grace of its brief
blossom, though I myself
fear brevity,
I choose the spider lily
for the grace of its brief
blossom, though I myself
fear brevity,
but I choose The Song of
Songs
because the flesh
of those pomegranates
has survived
all the frost of dogma.
because the flesh
of those pomegranates
has survived
all the frost of dogma.
I choose January with its
chill
lessons of patience and despair--and
August, too sun-struck for lessons.
I choose a thimbleful of red wine
to make my heart race,
lessons of patience and despair--and
August, too sun-struck for lessons.
I choose a thimbleful of red wine
to make my heart race,
then another to help
me
sleep. From the almanac
of last things I choose you,
as I have done before.
And I choose evening
sleep. From the almanac
of last things I choose you,
as I have done before.
And I choose evening
because
the light clinging
to the window
is at its most reflective
just as it is ready
to go out.
to the window
is at its most reflective
just as it is ready
to go out.
~ Linda
Pastan ~
(Carnival Evening: New and
Selected Poems 1968-1998)
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