PoemHunter.com   
Atavism by William Stafford   
Participate in our survey Search:
Search Poems, Poets, Quotations and Lyrics   
Home Poets Poems Lyrics Quotations Music Forum Member Area Poetry E-Books
 
William Stafford
#220
on top 500 Poets
William Stafford
(January 17, 1914 – August 28, 1993 / Kansas)
21 poems of William Stafford
click to download
Poet's Page  Biography  Poems  Quotations  Comments   Stats  
 
<< prev. poem Poems by William Stafford : 12 / 38 next poem >>
  
  Atavism

User Rating:

6.5 /10
(20 votes)



  1
Sometimes in the open you look up
where birds go by, or just nothing,
and wait. A dim feeling comes
you were like this once, there was air,
and quiet; it was by a lake, or
maybe a river you were alert
as an otter and were suddenly born
like the evening star into wide
still worlds like this one you have found
again, for a moment, in the open.


2
Something is being told in the woods: aisles of
shadow lead away; a branch waves;
a pencil of sunlight slowly travels its
path. A withheld presence almost
speaks, but then retreats, rustles
a patch of brush. You can feel
the centuries ripple generations
of wandering, discovering, being lost
and found, eating, dying, being born.
A walk through the forest strokes your fur,
the fur you no longer have. And your gaze
down a forest aisle is a strange, long
plunge, dark eyes looking for home.
For delicious minutes you can feel your whiskers
wider than your mind, away out over everything.


William Stafford

Submitted Date Monday, January 13, 2003



Read poems about / on: river, sometimes, star, lost, home, dark, travel

<< prev. poem Poems by William Stafford : 12 / 38 next poem >>
 
  Comments about this poem (Atavism by William Stafford )
john tiong chunghoo (3/25/2006 12:16:00 AM)
0 person liked.
0 person did not like.
this is real deep;

A walk through the forest strokes your fur,
the fur you no longer have

my share:

forest
i join in the million year music
with an achoo
 
PoemHunter.com Updates

Happy Valentine's Day!
show your love with a poem

02.13.2012/ Poem of The Day from a Member
'Home Sweet Home' by Siyabonga A nxumalo

Clinic Poetry Competiton
Deadline: February 24, 2012

02.13.2012/ Modern Poem of The Day
'Parents' by William Morris Meredith Jr.

World Radio Day
celebrating radio broadcast

 
 
  Top 500 Poems

  1. Phenomenal Woman
    Maya Angelou
  2. Still I Rise
    Maya Angelou
  3. If You Forget Me
    Pablo Neruda
  4. Dreams
    Langston Hughes
  5. The Road Not Taken
    Robert Frost
  6. Annabel Lee
    Edgar Allan Poe
  7. I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You
    Pablo Neruda
  8. If
    Rudyard Kipling
  9. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
    Maya Angelou
  10. A Dream Within A Dream
    Edgar Allan Poe
The complete list of Top 500 Poems >>
 
 

(c) Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge..  About Us | Copyright notice | Privacy statement | Help
2/14/2012 2:35:19 AM. #.# You Are Here: Atavism by William Stafford

Home | Poets | Poems | Free Poetry eBooks | Contests | Sites | Submit a Poem | Manage Your Poems | Game Gar | Oyun | Contact Us

Christmas Poems | Love Poems | Pablo Neruda | Death Poems | Sad Poems | Birthday Poems | Wedding Poems | Nature Poems | Sorry Poems 

[Hata Bildir]