Passing for Spring

© harrington

For the last day of National Poetry Month [and thanks for sharing it with me], I think we should revisit one of Minnesota's best known poets, Robert Bly. One of his poems in Eating the Honey of Words fits well with April's exit.

AN EVENING WHEN THE FULL MOON
ROSE AS THE SUN SET

The sun goes down in the dusty April night.
"You know it could be alive!"
The sun is round, massive, compelling, sober, on fire.
It moves swiftly through the tree-stalks of the Lundin
       grove as we drive past....
The legs of a bronze god walking at the edge of the
      world, unseen by many,
On his archaic errands, doubled up on his own
     energy.
He guides his life by his dreams,
When we look again he is gone.

Turning toward Milan, we see the other one, the
     moon, whole and rising.
Three wild geese make dark spots in that part of the
     sky.
Under the shining one the pastures leap forward,
Grass fields rolling as in October, the sow-colored
     fields near the river.
The rising one lights the pair of pintails alert in the
     shallow pond.
It shines on those faithful to each other, alert in the
     early night,
And the life of faithfulness goes by like a river,
With no one noticing it.

Robert Bly

© harrington

Here's the short version of Snyder's nature poetics points and my assessment of Bly's poem: nature literate? yes; grounded in a place? yes; Coyote as a totem? yes; Bear as a totem? I believe so; find further totems? yes; fear not science? unh-huh; go further with science? Bly almost always raises "awareness of the problematic and contingent aspects of so-called objectivity"; study mind and language? when has Bly ever done elsewise? crafty and get the work done? usually, notably here. What do you think? Has this been interesting? Want to try something like it again next year? As the saying goes, don't be sad it's over, be glad it happened. Thanks for listening. Come again when you can. Rants, raves and reflections served daily here at My Minnesota.