Classic and Contemporary Poetry
A CHILD TASTES THE LOVELINESS OF LIFE AND FASHIONS A NEW DREAM, by GRACE STONE COATES First Line: When I am grown I shall eat citron Last Line: Appraising a pale chartreuse!) Subject(s): Dreams; Growth; Life; Nightmares | ||||||||
I A child When I am grown I shall eat citron, I shall stroke the cactus blossoms, I shall walk in the rain without a hat. II tastes Translucent yellow-green, Persia you are, and warmth of Sicily; Citron, shall I ever know your land? Your thorny branches sparse on Kasha's hills -- Their creamy inner blossoms? Your shadows remember their purple veining; Your green is green of the sea; Your gold is sunshine strained through pale leaves. I nibble your flaking crystal coat. Its fragrance is of other lands. Citron, your taste is heavy on my tongue, Heavy and cloying! It weighs me with mysteries that are not mine. III the loveliness Here, here at my feet! Thirsty desert loveliness Drinking the sun! Delicate petals of honey pallor, Delicate, yet sufficient, Tenuous petals of shimmering luster Amorous of the sun! Your depths I explore, with wary, inquisitive finger; Their green is amber in the light Your stamens are splashed wide, The bees have found them; Your pistil is heavy for the bee. Cactus! Your spines lash and stab! I am stung by a million implacable needles! IV of life The rain is playing with the sun. It whispers jests to my hair, It teases my ears with secrets. I turn my face, I lift my arms to the rain. My bosom is drenched in its peace, I run in its heavy abundance. The sun thrusts at my eyes with golden splinters, The earth is swimming green. The sun is tired He has forgotten us The wind has risen I have come too far I am cold. V. and fashions "Mother, I have made a citron cake; I have picked the pansies; I have caught rain-water to wash my hair." VI. a new dream (And he will take me to Persia . . . and to Italy -- The gayest places . . . We dine; The sables slide from my indolent shoulders And my jewels are frosty stars As I turn my head Appraising a pale chartreuse!) | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...VARIATIONS: 14 by CONRAD AIKEN VARIATIONS: 18 by CONRAD AIKEN LIVE IT THROUGH by DAVID IGNATOW A DREAM OF GAMES by JOSEPHINE JACOBSEN THE DREAM OF WAKING by RANDALL JARRELL APOLOGY FOR BAD DREAMS by ROBINSON JEFFERS GIVE YOUR WISH LIGHT by ROBINSON JEFFERS A MEDIC GATHERS MUSHROOMS FOR HIS LADY by GRACE STONE COATES |
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