PoemPleasures
Author / PoetDenise Levertov
TagsDiscover, Fragile, Hidden, Seed

I like to find
what’s not found
at once, but lies

within something of another nature,
in repose, distinct.
Gull feathers of glass, hidden

in white pulp: the bones of squid
which I pull out and lay
blade by blade on the draining board—

tapered as if for swiftness, to pierce
the heart, but fragile, substance
belying design. Or a fruit, mamey,

cased in rough brown peel, the flesh
rose-amber, and the seed:
the seed a stone of wood, carved and

polished, walnut-colored, formed
like a brazilnut, but large,
large enough to fill
the hungry palm of a hand.

I like the juicy stem of grass that grows
within the coarser leaf folded round,
and the butteryellow glow

in the narrow flute from which the morning-glory
opens blue and cool on a hot morning.

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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