The music of farewell by Morri Creech

Poems

November 2000

The music of farewell

Burke

was right!

Descending for the last time to the underworld,
the soul of Orpheus addresses his audience.

It’s true, of course, that the dusk-umbered leaves
Deepening on the hawthorn are a mere sleight
Of sun and shadow, true the olive groves
And tamarisks beside the river sway
To an off-key breeze, not to their own delight—
And the blue teal, arrowing through the stray
October clouds, keep to their appointments
According to schedule but not with us in mind,
Though you would have it otherwise. What sense
Is there in listening to the sun-shot wind
Croon through the autumn branches, once the song
Behind the song is finished? Always you listened
With your heads tilted towards the absolute
As if the gods would sing to you, while the long
Phrase of my sorrow held ...

This article is available to subscribers and for individual purchase

Subscribe to TNC (Print and Online editions)

Subscribe to TNC (Online only)

Purchase article credit and clip this article

If you already have an account login first

Morri Creech's second book, Field Knowledge (Waywiser), won the first annual Anthony Hecht prize.

Webcasts

Anthony Daniels on the Euro Crisis
The New Criterion author Anthony Daniels delivers remarks in New York City about the "European experiment." With an introduction by editor Roger Kimball. Recorded on November 30, 2011.

Andrew C. McCarthy: The Muslim Threat
The New Criterion contributor Andrew C. McCarthy delivers remarks in Effingham, Illinois, about the threat of Islamism to the United States. A Friend of The New Criterion, Dwight Erskine, introduces McCarthy to the Effingham audience. Recorded on October 1, 2011.

Roger Kimball: The Grim Future of Statism
The New Criterion editor Roger Kimball delivers remarks in Effingham, Illinois, about the future of statism and The New Criterion's 30th anniversary. A Friend of The New Criterion, Dwight Erskine, introduces Roger Kimball to the Effingham audience. Recorded on October 1, 2011.

Weblog

Further Studies in Gaffe-ology

by James Bowman

Feb 07, 2012 05:46 PM

Charles Murray's "Fishtown" in popular culture

by Emily Esfahani Smith

Feb 07, 2012 11:53 AM

Must-Read Alert: Andrew Roberts in demolition mode

by Roger Kimball

Feb 02, 2012 02:22 PM

The New Criterion

Poems

This article is available to subscribers and for individual purchase

Webcasts

RSS feeds