Sunday Sonnet*

Sunday 25 October 2009

somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond
any experience,your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look easily will unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skilfully, mysteriously)her first rose

or if your wish be to close me, i and
my life will shut very beautifully, suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;

nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility:whose texture
compels me with the color of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing

(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens; only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody, not even the rain,has such small hands

Another silly summer job was being a torch lady (nope, not belting out Gloria Gaynor in drag)  - a lovely old-fashioned role, showing people to their seats in a cinema. I saw Hannah and her Sisters about 150 times that summer, and was word perfect. Not quite so enraptured with Karate Kid II; then I passed the time accidentally landing snogging couples in the full searchlight of my little torch. Anyway, I thought that the bookshop scene and subsequent reading of ee cummings was the most romantic thing I had ever seen in 19 years. Gorgeous film, gorgeous poem.


*Am assuming you're over this by now

4 comments:

  1. marvellous poet ee cummings

    ever wondered what would happened if he teamed up with OWEN MEANEY off of John Irving's book?

    it would be font warfare

    can oo have some Christina Rosetti next week?

    ReplyDelete
  2. It would be case warfare actually.

    Sorry to be a pedant.

    You can have Rosetti when I've run out of the good stuff, hold your horses...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear Els,

    How could I not be enchanted by a blog with a header featuring full dressage AND Champagne, your fabulous profile "rarely, if ever stumped for an opinion. . .", a dog (!) as your picture and then your charming blog to wrap up the perfect package?

    Au contraire, I thank you.

    Warm regards,
    Tish

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tish, you are too kind for words and I, for once, am lost for them.

    Let me know if you fancy a life swap though!! My bots are house trained and my dog will lick you to death.

    I could put in a few hours assiee sur le trottior!

    E
    PS - think I may have implied in the gutter rather than perched chicly at a cafe table...

    ReplyDelete

Please leave a comment if you can be remotely bothered - anything you have to say is valuable and I absolutely love hearing from you all. Elizabeth