This poem is taken from PN Review 12, Volume 6 Number 4, March - April 1980.
Six Poems
WATCHER
He is the watcher underneath the stars.
He dresses the dome of night with strings of long
Meditations. He seldom moves. If he does,
It is to become acquainted with nightly creatures
And now with hibernators who are creeping
Out of their snowy sleep, their habitations
Which, perilously, just kept them warm enough.
The watcher is hardy and burly but even he
Rejoices in his own silence at the change
Apparent everywhere as the glacier winter
Slides away, as the woken grass speaks
And a chorus of thrushes and blackbirds sings the hours.
This watcher joins them in his meditations:
But he thinks of a shadow only just beginning
To creep over grass dressed by the sun.
...
He is the watcher underneath the stars.
He dresses the dome of night with strings of long
Meditations. He seldom moves. If he does,
It is to become acquainted with nightly creatures
And now with hibernators who are creeping
Out of their snowy sleep, their habitations
Which, perilously, just kept them warm enough.
The watcher is hardy and burly but even he
Rejoices in his own silence at the change
Apparent everywhere as the glacier winter
Slides away, as the woken grass speaks
And a chorus of thrushes and blackbirds sings the hours.
This watcher joins them in his meditations:
But he thinks of a shadow only just beginning
To creep over grass dressed by the sun.
...
The page you have requested is restricted to subscribers only. Please enter your username and password and click on 'Continue'.
If you have forgotten your username and password, please enter the email address you used when you joined. Your login details will then be emailed to the address specified.
If you are not a subscriber and would like to enjoy the 285 issues containing over 11,500 poems, articles, reports, interviews and reviews, why not subscribe to the website today?
If you have forgotten your username and password, please enter the email address you used when you joined. Your login details will then be emailed to the address specified.
If you are not a subscriber and would like to enjoy the 285 issues containing over 11,500 poems, articles, reports, interviews and reviews, why not subscribe to the website today?