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Poems

January 1997

On that mountain

by Rachel Hadas

Evidence everywhere: accumulation.
Leaves atremble and narratives of branches
ramifying, so ever more connections
stay unfinished nor ever to be finished.
Do we not all have separate destinations?
Not that it matters. Aching opalescence
held us all spellbound, motionless, atingle,
balanced like sun and rain before a rainbow,
thunder purring and lightning white as daylight.
After the storm passed, all the world was gleaming,
glossy, almost lubricious with potential,
each blade of grass a dagger in the morning,
each leaf a goblet, brimming, winking, ready
to repay some small measure of night’s thunder.
Couples stood tiptoe, trembling at departure,
kissing, breathing Oh, let me touch your wisdom;
let me then taste reciprocally your beauty.

More than mere iridescence—transformation.
Recall the dark face, thunder cowled at midnight.
Recall the bright face, ri ...

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Rachel Hadas is co-editor of The Greek Poets (Norton)
more from this author


This article originally appeared in The New Criterion, Volume 15 January 1997, on page 33
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