from: THE BOOK OF HOURS

variations on a theme by RILKE                                                                   








A  certain day  became a  presence to  me;
there it was,  confronting me  --  a sky, air, light:
a being.   And before it started to descend
from the height of noon,  it leaned over
and  struck my shoulder  as if with
the  flat of a sword,  granting me
honor  and a task.    The day's blow
rang out, metallic -- or it was I,  a bell awakened,
and what I heard was my whole self
 saying and singing what it knew:    I can.






                                          Denise Levertov
















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