April 1, 1944
Of Men and Places
Steve Benet had an eye for a place And an ear for the muscle in its name, Roots he had and, by God’s good grace, A grip on honest earth. […]
April 1, 1944
Dam Neck, Virginia
2. Anti-aircraft seen from a certain distance On a steely blue night say a mile away Flowers on the air absolutely dream-like, The vision has no relation to the reality. […]
April 1, 1944
Speech from a Play
3. {Soliloquy} Gower is my pleasure, Dante is my pain As I sit in a mist of inconsequence In this low house where I would burst my brain Entangled as […]
April 1, 1944
La Belle Dame Sans Merci
Three of us walking, and two of us were tall, Walking, in this dream, On a down-hill path, in a grove of laurel and pine, On our way to a […]
April 1, 1944
Gunnery Practice
It is always there, rattling the teacups at four, Tilting the seagull on his favorite perch, Twitting his gaudy eye. But in the town, Well-used to it, bread is delivered […]
April 1, 1944
[You Would Think the Fury of Aerial Bombardment]
1. You would think the fury of aerial bombardment Would rouse God to relent; the infinite spaces Are still silent. He looks on shock-pried faces. History, even, does not know […]
April 1, 1944
Cuban Voyage
A young man growing old, an old man aging, Walked the white snow-smelling road. You cried: “No more to feel that snarling sadness grab Body and mind as a dog […]
April 1, 1944
With a Posthumous Medal
His hands were talented for intricate transactions; He might, but for the time, have planned a city Or written music all night in splendid rooms Or righted recalcitrant hollyhocks or […]