Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SURFACES AND MASKS; 2 by CLARENCE MAJOR

Poet Analysis

First Line: THEY SIT SILENTLY IN THE DARK
Last Line: William Dean Howells swim / in the Grand Canal
Subject(s): MOTION PICTURES; MEMORY; VENICE, ITALY;
Little places.

Corte Stella.
White sheets hanging
on clotheslines.
Flowerpots
inside barred windows.
Broom propped against wall.

Rio de San Barnaba.
Gondolas.
One half-sunken,
filled with snow.
On the other side, little boats --
sleeping birds.
Their bodies reflected
upside down in the water.

Rio Terra dei Catecumeni.
Windows covered
with a profusion of blooming vines.
Winter sunlight
in spring.


Used with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, P.O. Box 271, Port Townsend, WA
98368-0271, www.cc.press.org


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