Several years ago, a very good friend of mine introduced me to a poem that has taken time to become one of my favorites. When I first read this poem I was not impressed. The horses, the seemingly corny language, the presumption of the author that he knows how animals feel... I just didn't like it. But the last three lines of the poem are heart-wrenchingly perfect, and I eventually came around to the rest of the poem. It has grown on me over the years, and I've learned to look past the overt subject matter, which is the primary reason that I initially didn't identify with the poem, and think of it in terms of experience. The few times in my life in which I have had experiences that give me that free floating, soaking-it-all-in feeling have been hard to describe and even harder to re-create. Wright describes his experience in a way that inspires me to keep trying to describe mine.
A Blessing
by James Wright
Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota,
Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.
And the eyes of those two Indian ponies
Darken with kindness.
They have come gladly out of the willows
To welcome my friend and me.
We step over the barbed wire into the pasture
Where they have been grazing all day, alone.
They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness
That we have come.
They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other.
There is no loneliness like theirs.
At home once more,
They begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness.
I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms,
For she has walked over to me
And nuzzled my left hand.
She is black and white,
Her mane falls wild on her forehead,
And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear
That is delicate as the skin over a girl’s wrist.
Suddenly I realize
That if I stepped out of my body I would break
Into blossom.
3 comments:
I do find the metaphor of breaking
into blossom quite beautiful--only after the skin breaks (forgive my lack of botanical terminology at the moment) can the bloom occur . . . makes me want to contemplate, to lounge on a grassy knoll and blink at the brilliance of the sun . . .
What a beautiful poem! I must admit that I have never read James Wright. I am curious to read more from this poet now. Do you, by chance, know if he wrote more? I think what draws me into this piece is the choice of words used. They seem to flow elegantly and softly off the tongue when read out loud. I am also particularly fond of the way the poet seems to create many different facets that one can relate to. I read this poem in your post a few times over and came up with a different way to apply it to myself each time. I love when poems offer freedom of interpretation like this- whether purposely or not.
Thanks for introducing me to this poem! I rather enjoyed it!
This makes me afraid of what I would break into. I doubt it would be a blossom. Thanks for sharing.
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