Thursday, September 01, 2011

Thursday Poem - Do Not Expect....

Do not expect that if your book falls open
to a certain page, that any phrase
you read will make a difference today,
or that the voices you might overhear
when the wind moves through the yellow-green
and golden tent of autumn, speak to you.

Things ripen or go dry. Light plays on the
dark surface of the lake. Each afternoon
your shadow walks beside you on the wall,
and the days stay long and heavy underneath
the distant rumor of the harvest. One
more summer gone,
and one way or another you survive,
dull or regretful, never learning that
nothing is hidden in the obvious
changes of the world, that even the dim
reflection of the sun on tall, dry grass
is more than you will ever understand.

And only briefly then
you touch, you see, you press against
the surface of impenetrable things. 

Dana Gioia

2 comments:

Guy said...

Hi Cate

You selected a great poem I was hooked from the first line. And your photo really compliments the sense of mystery and revelation that seems to lie at the heart of the poem.

Thanks Guy

the wild magnolia said...

Do not expect, it is true, do not expect and you will always be surprised.

I loved these words...strength is what life requires, sense of humor, and a constant hunger for life.

Splendid photo!