Still Hands (Cento)
I let it burn, rooted as it is. Now
nothing else keeps my eyes
in the cloud – get close to a star,
and there you are, in the sun.
What about all the little stones,
sitting alone in the moonlight?
Silence complicates despair.
I have believed so long in the magic
of names and poems,
and I know that you would take
the still hands to dryness and
loose rocks, where the light
re-immerses itself. It’s not the story
I want. We cannot live on that.
* * *
Credits:
Sharon Wevill, Julia de Burgos, Francis Ponge, Mary Oliver,
Alberto de Lacerda, Robert Hass, HD, Jacques Dupin, Francesca Abbate, George Oppen.
O at the Edges 
“I have believed so long in the magic
of names and poems” don’t let those still hands touch my dreams and fantasies,
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A Robert Hass line!
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I read this a number of times. It’s so, so good.
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Thank you, Arbie. I’m so pleased you like it.
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Love this from the middle: What about all the little stones, / sitting alone in the moonlight? //
Silence complicates despair.
I applaud the “complicate” – silence indeed a catalyst in processing despair, often (in my experience) a catalyst causing the despair – I guess it’s what we DO with the silence. The image of stones simply sitting in moonlight (and implied silence) seems a summons.
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Thanks, Jazz. The source poems were rich fields from which to harvest. Sometimes I think I’ve lived too long in silence.
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Your poetry breaks the silence a little at a time … with help from Scarecrow!
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Thanks, Jazz. Scarecrow should come out more often, but he’s rather reticent. Except when he’s not. 🙂
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I read this several times and, each time, I found something deeper and more moving within. A beautifully crafted piece of writing Robert :O) x
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Thanks very much! You’ve lifted my day.
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I’m so glad :O) xx
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🙂
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Wow this is amazing. You’re very talented, thanks for sharing.
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You are very kind. Thank you!
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