PoemAdam’s Complaint
Author / PoetDenise Levertov
TagsDesire, Discontent, Insatiable, Longing

Some people,
no matter what you give them,
still want the moon.

The bread,
the salt,
white meat and dark,
still hungry.

The marriage bed
and the cradle,
still empty arms.

You give them land,
their own earth under their feet,
still they take to the roads

And water: dig them the deepest well,
still it’s not deep enough
to drink the moon from.

Denise Levertov
Denise Levertov
24 Oct 1923 - 20 Dec 1997
Region: Central America
Period: Contemporary
Movement: Confessional, New American Poetry
Awards: National Book Award, The Robert Frost Medal

more poems by Denise Levertov

Poem NameTopic
In MindContrast, Imagination, Innocence
Wedding-RingDivorce, Loss, Memory
The WellDreaming, Moonlight, Transformation
The ThreadGently, Pulling, Silently
The QuestDream, Love, Pursuit
The MutesFemale, Grief-Language, Groans
The BreathingFog, Nature, Patience
The AvowalEmbrace, Float, Freefall
The Ache Of MarriageCommunion, Joy, Leviathan
Seeing For A MomentCocoon, Eschatology, Wings

all poems by Denise Levertov

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