"Isn't this your life? That ancient kiss
still burning out your eyes? Isn't this defeat
so accurate, the church bell simply seems
a pure announcement: ring and no one comes?"
Richard Hugo (1923-1982), U.S. poet. Degrees of Gray in Philipsburg (l. 23-26). . .
Making Certain It Goes On; the Collected Poems of Richard Hugo. (1984) W. W. Norton. |
"You might come here Sunday on a whim.
Say your life broke down. The last good kiss
you had was years ago."
Richard Hugo (1923-1982), U.S. poet. Degrees of Gray in Philipsburg (l. 1-3). . .
Making Certain It Goes On; the Collected Poems of Richard Hugo. (1984) W. W. Norton. |
"Off south, the bison multiply so fast
a slaughter's mandatory every spring
and every spring the creeks get fat
and Kicking Horse fills up."
Richard Hugo (1923-1982), U.S. poet. The Lady in Kicking Horse Reservoir (l. 43-46). . .
Making Certain It Goes On; the Collected Poems of Richard Hugo. (1984) W. W. Norton. |
"work until my heart is short,
then go out slowly with a feeble grin,
my fingers flexing but my eyes gone gray
from cramps and the lack of oxygen."
Richard Hugo (1923-1982), U.S. poet. The Way a Ghost Dissolves (l. 25-28). . .
Making Certain It Goes On; the Collected Poems of Richard Hugo. (1984) W. W. Norton. |
"She planted corn and left the rest
to elements, convinced that God
with giant faucets regulates the rain
and saves the crops from frost or foreign wind."
Richard Hugo (1923-1982), U.S. poet. The Way a Ghost Dissolves (l. 4-7). . .
Making Certain It Goes On; the Collected Poems of Richard Hugo. (1984) W. W. Norton. |
"Rub a half potato on your wart
and wrap it in a damp cloth. Close
your eyes and whirl three times and throw.
Then bury rag and spud exactly where they fall."
Richard Hugo (1923-1982), U.S. poet. The Way a Ghost Dissolves (l. 9-13). . .
Making Certain It Goes On; the Collected Poems of Richard Hugo. (1984) W. W. Norton. |
"Or driven wild
by snakes that kept the carrots clean,
she butchered snakes and carrots with a hoe."
Richard Hugo (1923-1982), U.S. poet. The Way a Ghost Dissolves (l. 17-19). . .
Making Certain It Goes On; the Collected Poems of Richard Hugo. (1984) W. W. Norton. |
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