POND SONG 3.30
We are drawn to agapeic selving by this passing of the divine within us, and a passing that no longer makes it possible for us simply to be within ourselves. G&B 274
Spartina stalks outshine the snow__a thaw on Epiphany Sunday
ducks heads-down space the pond__ there’s something in the way
a young hen waits at the edge__ raising one long orange foot
to a spot needing attention__ high clouds open and shut
About Tom
Lately managing editor of Single Island Press, Portsmouth, Thomas D’Evelyn (PhD comparative literature, University of California, Berkeley) has had a long career in editing, teaching, and writing. While in graduate school he taught 8th and 9th grade at The Academy, a private school in Berkeley California. After Berkeley, he was books editor of The Christian Science Monitor in the 1980s. In the 90’s, he worked in two positions in publishing: as general humanities acquisitions editor at Harvard University Press, and as managing editor at Boston University. Meanwhile, he ran a book agency, publishing works in sociology, history, and literature. Since the 90s, he’s been deeply involved in adult continuing education, both at Brown University and as a private consultant. He now works out of his home in Portsmouth, NH. He blogs at http://tomdevelyn.info/
You have modified the form, and after such consistency of structure this small fact looms large, but the underlying thought remains the same, and the voice is familiar. I find myself wondering what the hen has seen that makes her pause.
John, I wasn’t conscious of modifying the form! I’ll have to take a look. And the young female mallard was just itching a “spot” near her beak! The foot seemed outsized compared to the rest of her body. But she certainly got my attention, and held it.
I think I see what you mean by modifying the form. I opened up the couplet and indeed the lines to enjambment. I think I’ve done that before but to a less noticeable extent. I wanted to imitate the fluidity of the experience and how it zoomed in on the young duck. The last half line took days to get right, if it IS right, and I like it and not just because it reminds me of a line by Larkin! I like the “line” that goes from the raising of the orange duck foot up to the clouds. “Open and shut” is a vernacular expression for a mix of cloud and sun, variable weather.