Hayden Carruth Poems

Well I have and in fact
more than one and I'll
tell you this too
...

First, the self. Then, the observing self.
The self that acts and the self that watches. This
The starting point, the place where the mind begins,
Whether the mind of an individual or
...

Scrambled eggs and whiskey
in the false-dawn light. Chicago,
a sweet town, bleak, God knows,
but sweet. Sometimes. And
...

"Form follows function follows form . . . , etc."

--Dr. J. Anthony Wadlington
...

The old man takes a nap
too soon in the morning.
His coffee cup grows cold.
...

Both of us had been close
to Joel, and at Joel's death
my friend had gone to the wake
and the memorial service
...

Coming home with the last load I ride standing
on the wagon tongue, behind the tractor
in hot exhaust, lank with sweat,
...

poem in the ancient mode for you
that was musical and had old words

in it such as would never do in
...

It is not music, though one has tried music.
It is not nature, though one has tried
The rose, the bluebird, and the bear.
It is not death, though one has often died.
...

You may think it strange, Sam, that I'm writing
a letter in these circumstances. I thought
it strange too--the first time. But there's
a misconception I was laboring under, and you
...