Tuesday, November 23, 2010

words, wide night

A slow night journey on a provincial train, with a gentle rain falling outside, is a balm for my daydreaming nature.

How inane and petty worldly pursuits are when everything is seen through this fog of desire, through this wet window-glass tenderly sprinkled with thoughts of you.

*      *      *

Words, Wide Night

Somewhere on the other side of this wide night
and the distance between us, I am thinking of you.
The room is turning slowly away from the moon.

This is pleasurable. Or shall I cross that out and say
it is sad? In one of the tenses I singing
an impossible song of desire that you cannot hear.

La lala la. See? I close my eyes and imagine
the dark hills I would have to cross
to reach you. For I am in love with you and this is

what it is like or what it is like in words.  


Carol Ann Duffy, from The Other Country.

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