I see, in evening air, /
How slowly dark comes down on what we do.
—Theodore Roethke (1908–1963)
Conversation
I would like to watch you sleeping,
which may not happen.
I would like to watch you,
sleeping. I would like to sleep
with you, to enter
your sleep as its smooth dark wave
slides over my head
—Margaret Atwood
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2
18
. . . Do you see?
We were made fools of.
And the scent of mock orange
drifts through the window.
How can I rest?
How can I be content
when there is still
that odor in the world?
—Louise Glück
Replying to
... We watched you walk away. Down the stone steps
and into the little town. I felt
something true had been spoken
and though I would have preferred to have spoken it myself
I was glad at least to have heard it.
- Louise Gluck
1