Camouflaged in Stillness
March 11, 2015
Introduction by Ted Kooser: Here’s a fine poem by
Heather Allen, a Connecticut poet who pays close attention to what’s right
under her feet. It may seem ordinary, but it isn’t.
Grasses
So still at heart,
They respond like water
To the slightest breeze,
Rippling as one body,
And, as one mind,
Bend continually
To listen:
The perfect confidants,
They keep to themselves,
A web of trails and nests,
Burrows and hidden entrances—
Do not reveal
Those camouflaged in stillness
From the circling hawks,
Or crouched and breathless
At the passing of the fox.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry
Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also
supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
Poem copyright ©1996 by Heather Allen. Reprinted from Leaving a Shadow, 1996,
by permission of Copper Canyon Press, www.coppercanyonpress.org. Introduction
copyright 2014 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser,
served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of
Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.
4 comments
Poets have such a magical way of expanding "what's under their feet." What a special way of thinking. I love the photo that you chose for this poem...
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rita. I loved this poem, and aspire to thinking more like a poet.
ReplyDeleteDear Kathy - such a wonderful poem and love the photo too. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Debbie. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment.
ReplyDelete