Monday, April 4, 2011

Nymphaeum

Crepe de chine flowers
Shine, then lose luster.
In wishes and dreams
We ask always for the other
And come to the pool
Misted over,
A mirror.

5 comments:

  1. rebirth, rebirth, rebirth
    i repeat it as a hope
    for absolution.

    is there enough water?
    only nature can save us, it seems.

    you are lovely.

    xo
    erin

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  2. There is great beauty in these brief lines.

    And truth. We can't ever quite know or touch the other. The pool is always misted over. Gorgeous image.

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  3. What is that we're asking for, anyway? Rilke in the Elegies says that lovers are always looking for something that over their lover's shoulders. Anne Carson in "Eros the Bittersweet" says it is our own reflection in the Beloved's eye we're seeking. But here you suggest we come to the pool frosted (OK, misted) with desire which make the pool's reflection impenetrable, since our reach reverses the effect and makes us mirrors of our own desire. I think. See "A Year With Rilke" today for another meditation on those eternally blooming/fading flowers. And sorry for commenting in excess of your poem. But great stuff always billows this bellows of this windbag. -Brendan

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  4. This is simply beautiful. Such depth in so few lines... and so much truth.

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