Tuesday, December 29, 2009

From Lesbos, Alexandria, Earth

In despair and sunless
summer heat
think on dry
dark places

In Egypt, infinite
Sapphics hidden
below concrete and clay:
words written in a

language you would not know
by a woman who drank
from cups of wind
 
            Above all spits

the very sun
that shone on her shoulders
that parches your throat
that does not reach

those fragments of verse
that even now
are singing into the
ribcage of the earth

7 comments:

Anders Enochsson said...

Impressive. Sharp images, I perceive the poem as very ”sonic”, wave-like in structure.

Jenny said...

The structure is elegant. Many examples of great imagery, like:

"Above all spits" and
"ribcage of the earth"

This poem has a flying quality about it.

Megan Duffy said...

Thank you both for your kind words.

I have been thinking of Sappho a lot over the last few months of this year.

Francis Scudellari said...

This is a truly lovely piece, beautifully arranged with simple but lyrical images.

Akeith Walters said...

A good, enjoyable read.

Megan Duffy said...

Francis and Akeith, thank you.

Claudette Cohen said...

Stunning.