[36] In a Boat on Big Stone Lake, Poetry Legend Robert Bly

I
How beautiful it is, aging, to be out with friends
On the water!  Already, in June,
The water heavy with green filaments
Of life.  Spring birds send in a warning
From the South Dakota shore.

II
The briefness of life!  How the yellow rope
Shines in the water-walking sun!
From inside us, deep ages
Walk across the water, buildings
Fall, the angel has spread its wings
Over the dark valley of tiny minutes.

III
The country staggers toward light-
Hearted brutality.
We have made a long journey
And no one knows who is coming back.
I remember the muskrat’s head so sleek.
I remember something floating on the water.

 

Reprinted from Like the New Moon, I Will Live My Life, White Pine Press, 2015.

Bly’s recent book, Collected poems, [2018] is available at Amazon.com here.