sprite writes
broodings from the burrow

February 2, 2006


bloggers’ (silent) poetry reading
posted by soe 12:14 am

Reya invited bloggers to join her in her annual poetry reading.

This is the poem I chose:

A Physics
~ Heather McHugh

When you get down to it, Earth
has our own great ranges
of feeling — Rocky, Smoky, Blue —
and a heart that can melt stones.

The still pools fill with sky,
as if aloof, and we have eyes
for all of this — and more, for Earth’s
reminding moon. We too are ruled

by such attractions — spun and swaddled,
rocked and lent a light. We run
our clocks on wheels, our trains
on time. But all the while we want

to love each other endlessly — not only for
a hundred years, not only six feet up and down.
We want the suns and moons of silver
in ourselves, not only counted coins in a cup. The whole

idea of love was not to fall. And neither was
the whole idea of God. We put him well
above ourselves, because we meant,
in time, to measure up.


While I really liked the word play she uses throughout this poem, it’s really the last stanza that makes this a poem for the ages.

Category: arts. There is/are 1 Comment.



This is beautiful, and true, too. Thanks so much for posting today. Yours is the first I’ve read. I’ll truly be drenched in poetry today.

Comment by Reya Mellicker 02.02.06 @ 7:37 pm