A LATE LOVE POEM FOR
“the leisures of rabbits . . . land tortoises with their curious smells . . . the cow stands in the shade, working her jaws, and suspending upon creation the wide amber holy lamp of her consciousness . . .”
James Agee, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men
After you read to me
the grand catalog
from James Agee,
all animals and
plants of one place
in Alabama, I rest
my head in your lap
in the warm basket
of a body that
remains unknown to me
well beyond the time
either of us
can create a child.
My head sinks, heavy
with the creatures
Agee names, as dusk
fills the trees, closes
around sharecroppers’
fields and houses.
This is a full dark,
warm still with sun.
Within the hollow
formed by your hips
I rest my thought—
a cobble in the path,
an egg in the nest.
TELLS ME
This blueberry tells me
all I can bear.
Life is sweet in a burst;
acid cuts at the edges.
There are metals no one has named
heavier than mountains or the moon.
I have written poetry since 1958. Most of my poems in print have been self-published, the latest collections from 2011 are Steps and A Boy’s Eyes. Since moving to Eugene in 1986, my editing and reviewing interests have found outlet in Fireweed, Traprock Books, and www.amazonneighbors.com. This year (2012) I hope to finish a sixth essay on an Oregon poet and to seek publication for a collection to be called Durable Goods: Appreciations of Oregon Poets.
Founded in 1956, the Oregon Poetry Association (OPA) OPA is Oregon’s oldest literary organization, and with over 350 members, we are Oregon’s largest literary organization. OPA was a state-wide outgrowth of Portland’s Verseweavers Poetry Society, which was founded in 1936. The OPA constitution and by-laws were created in April of 1956, and the first annual meeting was held in April of 1957.
David Hedges, who was OPA President from 1982-1983 and 1997-2002, revitalized the organization during his second term. He initiated the Student Poetry Contest, Poetry Day readings at book stores, and the Family Poetry Workshop Project. He was instrumental in the society’s success.
In 2011 our name changed from the Oregon State Poetry Assocation (OSPA) to the Oregon Poetry Assocation (OPA).
We welcome all poets, regardless of publishing history, academic background, and writing experience. Our membership includes winners of the Oregon Book Award (Ingrid Wendt, Willa Schneberg, Penelope Schott and Judith Montgomery), Pushcart Prize nominees, Academy of American Poets award winners, journal editors, and small press editors, as well as beginning poets, poets with a recent first chapbook publication, and experienced poets with no publication history. Our past board members include former Oregon Poet Laureate William Stafford, and the current Oregon Poet Laureate, Paulann Petersen, is an OPA member. Our members reflect the variety of poetry writing in Oregon.
Poet's Commentary
My development as a poet depends almost entirely on reading other poets and having supportive friends and community. I usually avoid classes and workshops. In my poems, at least recently, I have been influenced by translations of classic Chinese poets. In English, these poets sound to be speaking plainly. I want to present a speech act and get as much humanity as I can into each new poem. I keep about one in four poems that I finish; I finish about one in four of the starts.