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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE PURSUIT, by HENRY BELLAMANN Poet's Biography First Line: I know you now Last Line: Winged, fire striped -- and arrowed. | |||
I know you now -- I know you, and there is fear in me -- fear like shaken waters, flying waters, -- Waves that come again, thunder broken, from the deep. Always I have come too late upon the places where you moved, and the leaves, star shaped, and wing shaped, agile, shuddering leaves that closed upon your track were like the flight of most strange, ecstatic birds. The light that crept again along the purple furrow of your flowing shadow was like quick swimming gold of mythic fishes, deep enchanted by some intricate, thin singing -- singing lost and twisted into whispering that fled like swift refolding foam from the sharp and delicate slim curving wake of your purple shadowed going. Your flying, slight and pointed steps upon the tall, quiescent, virginal, bent grasses -- your penetrant and pointed cruel steps lay like gold edged arrows in the silver virgin grasses. Are you tigress? Are you winged -- winged and arrow footed -- white sail swift and purple shadow silent? Are you shape of wind and singing, -- thousand winged? Are you fire and black striped, arrow footed tigress? -- steel winged or desperate eagle? I am too late to perfectly surprise your sickle step; but a fear is in the sinuous waters of my heart's most secret pool of guarded stillness. I have seen them, and I know you -- I have seen the faces passing -- scarred and slim, most frail swift faces -- those who held you, those who knew you, -- arrowed, striped -- and winged. I must find you -- break some sudden curtain, starred and sounding of most slender, pale and swinging white and silver willow leaves, -- break some willow curtain, break and crumble the small shadows -- come like swift pursuit of sun upon you -- see you, know you, -- winged, fire striped -- and arrowed. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CUPS OF ILLUSION by HENRY BELLAMANN HOMESICKNESS by HENRY BELLAMANN PORTRAIT SONNETS: 1 by HENRY BELLAMANN PORTRAIT SONNETS: 2 by HENRY BELLAMANN PORTRAIT SONNETS: 3 by HENRY BELLAMANN PORTRAIT SONNETS: 4 by HENRY BELLAMANN |
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