Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, CLAY BISON IN A CAVE, by CLARENCE MAJOR


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

CLAY BISON IN A CAVE, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Clay-tan, eyeless
Subject(s): Caves; Paintings & Painters; Paleontology; Caverns


Clay-tan, eyeless,
voiceless, even in a sense weightless,
in motion yet motionless still
for centuries and centuries,
stuck in this motion
of climbing, perhaps lost, these
two Paleolithic bison,
heads lifted, strained back
to the black endless sky,
as they climb toward sunny grass.
Which black sky? Which grass?
Rock-step by rock-step,
up they go, on up and up.
The black sky at the top of the cave.
The grass that is always
more a promise in a dream
than that sweet kiss
blown by watercolored wind.


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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