May 1, 2007
Nobody
From Franz Wright's latest collection (5.5 stars out of 10?), God's Silence:
Did This Ever Happen to You
A marble-colored cloud
engulfed the sun and stalled,
a skinny squirrel limped toward me
as I crossed the empty park
and froze, the last
or next to last
fall leaf fell but before it touched
the earth, with shocking clarity
I heard my mother's voice
pronounce my name. And in an instant I passed
beyond sorrow and terror, and was carried up
into the imageless
bright darkness
I came from
and am. Nobody's
stronger than forgiveness.
I got this collection from the library back in February and I remember "Did This Ever Happen To You?" resonated with me more than any other passage in the collection.
Thanks for the reminder.
Posted by: Kammer at May 2, 2007 11:03 AMKammer, you're welcome. I liked Walking to Martha's Vineyard considerably more than this one. Was that your experience, or do you feel differently?
Posted by: jeremy at May 16, 2007 7:23 PM'Apple Orchard', 'Flight' and the title poem still trump any of the stuff in God's Silence, I think.
He has a talent for conveying that true awareness of forgiveness and hope amidst personal demons, but also the acceptance of that forgiveness. You can tell that he's not lying.
Posted by: Kammer at May 16, 2007 10:38 PM