Arts
Lines to a Poetby Josephine JacobsenBe careful what you say to us now.The street-lamp is smashed, the window is jagged,There is a man dead in his blood by the base of the fountain.If you speak,You cannot be delicate or sad or clever.Some other hour, in a moist April,We will consider similes for the budding larches.You can teach our wits and our fancy then;By a green-lit midnight in your studyWe will delve into your sparkling rock.But now at dreadful high noonYou may speak only to our heart,Our honor and our need:Saying such things as, “See, she is alive . . . “Or “Here is water,” or “Look behind you!”Josephine Jacobsen (19 August 1908 – 9 July 2003) was a Canadian-born American poet, short story writer, essayist, and critic. She was appointed the twenty-first Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1971.[2] In 1997, she received the Poetry Society of America’s highest award, the Robert Frost Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Poetry.More about her here:https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/josephine-jacobsenMusic and performance ©2020 by Scott Taylor