[PW] Missing poem, missing poet
Jeannette Cézanne
jcezanne at jeannettecezanne.com
Fri Feb 8 12:32:01 PST 2008
Many years ago in a waiting room I came across a poem in The New
Yorker, which I proceeded to copy out for my own use. It was written
by someone called Lisa Leafstrand. I've been trying to find out more
about the poet, whether she has other material available, and even
possibly some reprint rights for this poem.
I'm copying the whole of the poem below. Any information about it or
the poet would be greatly appreciated.
************
Icon: Saint Macarius beside his island monastery of Unzen, leaving
England
The roses are dead in the sun;
crusted stalks hang in the heat, undone
by the ache at the end of things
the edges of bells striking the evening
this empty room and the Oxford moon
flat through the glass. It cannot last
the rose incense of summer
and the green, worn corners behind facades
the gods of grey churches,
the cloisters and the graves,
must brood among the weeds and tangled stones
Home is far and fearfully drawing nearer,
hardly ready to receive such explicit
portraits of kings and ruined abbeys
or pictures of this place when it was full
and fair, and eased the morning through the curtain folds
spires trembled to meet the air,
thick with the abrupt smell of rain.
The pain is forgetting the colour of roses
in the wet wind, when they have been twisted
too soon by the sun.
--- Lisa Leafstrand
***********
Many thanks!
Jeannette
***
Jeannette Cezanne, enriching readers' lives
... one book at a time.
http://www.JeannetteCezanne.com
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