Classic and Contemporary Poetry
SO I MAY FEEL THE HANDS OF GOD, by ANNA HEMPSTEAD BRANCH Poet's Biography First Line: How swiftly, once, on silvery feet Last Line: Laid over thee -- more close than mine. Subject(s): God | ||||||||
How swiftly, once, on silvery feet I saw thee bound beneath the sun! Oh, savage innocence! The fleet, The wild, the sweet, the glistening one! God made in thee the gentlest sound To win for thee the dear caress. Like flowers growing in the ground We heard that trembling daintiness. Thou art strange Nature's subtlest child, The offspring of her alien mood. Now age has come on thee, the wild, And stricken thee, the simply good. Animal sweetness, when it goes, Leaves emptiness behind. Dear, thou must wither like the rose And dimness take thy creature mind. No more we laugh to see thee run -- The innocent, the fierce, the sweet! Thy snow-white dancing in the sun! The rushing of thy happy feet! The hearthstone and the friendly touch, Thou art grown needy, now, for these. How strange that wanting them so much Thou hast forgot the arts to please. Oh, creature age! creature distress! The haunting, old, and dim surprise! Would I might charm with tenderness The grief from those bewildered eyes! Thou hast no more, at love's commands, The simple sweetness of a purr. Then let me comfort with my hands The saddening of thy shining fur. When cold afflicts thy piteous sod Then let me warm that need of thine, So I may feel the hands of God Laid over thee -- more close than mine. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE MOUNTAIN IS STRIPPED by DAVID IGNATOW AS CLOSE AS BREATHING by MARK JARMAN UNHOLY SONNET 1 by MARK JARMAN UNHOLY SONNET 13 by MARK JARMAN BIRTH-DUES by ROBINSON JEFFERS THE SILENT SHEPHERDS by ROBINSON JEFFERS GOING TO THE HORSE FLATS by ROBINSON JEFFERS SONGS FOR MY MOTHER: 2. HER HANDS by ANNA HEMPSTEAD BRANCH |
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