 Wright (1927-1980) |
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A Blessing
by James Wright (1927-80)
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
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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.
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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,
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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
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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.
(1963)
Discussion questions:
1. What is identifiably "Romantic" about the content, narrative (romance), rhetoric, and spirit of this poem?
2. What may be "Post-Romantic" about the poem? For instance, how may the poem's Romantic elements be ironized, distanced, or even parodied?
