Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, VERTICALS, by HELEN DANFORTH PRUDDEN


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

VERTICALS, by                    
First Line: How many verticals there are!
Last Line: My spirit cries its impotence.
Subject(s): Nature


How many verticals there are!
A poplar tree that points a star,
Straight birches on an autumn hill
That weave a length of gray lined twill,
Sleek leaves of rhododendron curled
By winter cold like green flags furled
Hang stiffly from their staves of brown
And stripe the bushes up and down.
As Gothics lure the eyes on high
I climb some uprights to the sky,
But when sweet April's strings of rain
Make puppet flowers dance again
And pine trees' candled tips flash sparks
While crows caw exclamation marks,
Then inarticulate I stand
With prisoned heart and shackled hand
Behind frail bars of joy from whence
My spirit cries its impotence.





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