Poet Jane Hirshfield said "... the feeling I have about poem-writing (is) that it is always an exploration, of discovering something I didn't already know. Who I am shifts from moment to moment, year to year. What I can perceive does as well. A new poem peers into mystery, into whatever lies just beyond the edge of knowable ground."
I bring a different poem to the writing classes each week, not only to inspire but to introduce new poets to the group members.
Eve, After by Danusha Laméris
Did she know there was more to life than lions licking the furred ears of lambs, fruit trees dropping their fat bounty, the years droning on without argument? Too much quiet is never a good sign. Isn’t there always something itching beneath the surface? But what could she say? The larder was full and they were beautiful, their bodies new as the day they were made. Each morning the same flowers broke through the rich soil, the birds sang, again, in perfect pitch. It was only at night when they lay together in the dark that it was almost palpable— the vague sadness, unnamed. Foolishness, betrayal, —call it what you will. What a relief to feel the weight fall into her palm. And after, not to pretend anymore that the terrible calm was Paradise. ~ from The Moons of August (Autumn House Press, 2014)