A Poem to be Worn
CShine, (but also intended for all readers)
I hope you continue your daily offering. As a thank you for taking the time to share some lines with us and hopefully to encourage others to unwrap the gift of language, I share this poem "The Necklace" by Jonathan Galassi which first appeared in the 1999 or 2000 Valentine issue of The New Yorker and is also featured in his latest collection North Street. Granted this is a love poem and would have been a great choice to post on Valentine's Day, but I like Galassi's use of a central metaphor, the pearl necklace, and the wonderful way he extends that metaphor without it seeming contrived or forced.
I hope everyone enjoys this verse, which looks like it was intended to be a sonnet when Galassi began writing it. Notice his use of imperfect end rhyme. I have not attempted to jot down the rhyme scheme but it's there.
The Necklace
These little irises could be your eyes'
if they were twice as large and twice as dark,
but if I got inside them--can I find
the vein that is the tunnel to your heart?
I may be in there: I see signs of movement
under the silky shadow/luminescence;
is it feeling's fierce integument
or a more troubled, more elusive essence?
Your other eyes have locked me out sometimes
(they have good reason to) but not ignored
the guilty pleading boring our from mine
there are no words for, as there are no words
for what these lacquer seeds say. Irritation
brought them on, but patience made them pearls,
the same slow labor that piles years of pages up--
call it obsession, plodding, imitation,
pigheadedness, simplicity, devotion:
Out of the dented life burled nacre curls
until the final jewel locks rays and rages up.
Remember when you wear these little worlds.
[This message has been edited by bear facts (edited December 09, 2001).]
CShine, (but also intended for all readers)
I hope you continue your daily offering. As a thank you for taking the time to share some lines with us and hopefully to encourage others to unwrap the gift of language, I share this poem "The Necklace" by Jonathan Galassi which first appeared in the 1999 or 2000 Valentine issue of The New Yorker and is also featured in his latest collection North Street. Granted this is a love poem and would have been a great choice to post on Valentine's Day, but I like Galassi's use of a central metaphor, the pearl necklace, and the wonderful way he extends that metaphor without it seeming contrived or forced.
I hope everyone enjoys this verse, which looks like it was intended to be a sonnet when Galassi began writing it. Notice his use of imperfect end rhyme. I have not attempted to jot down the rhyme scheme but it's there.
The Necklace
These little irises could be your eyes'
if they were twice as large and twice as dark,
but if I got inside them--can I find
the vein that is the tunnel to your heart?
I may be in there: I see signs of movement
under the silky shadow/luminescence;
is it feeling's fierce integument
or a more troubled, more elusive essence?
Your other eyes have locked me out sometimes
(they have good reason to) but not ignored
the guilty pleading boring our from mine
there are no words for, as there are no words
for what these lacquer seeds say. Irritation
brought them on, but patience made them pearls,
the same slow labor that piles years of pages up--
call it obsession, plodding, imitation,
pigheadedness, simplicity, devotion:
Out of the dented life burled nacre curls
until the final jewel locks rays and rages up.
Remember when you wear these little worlds.
[This message has been edited by bear facts (edited December 09, 2001).]
