Prayer for Myself
by Lola HaskinsThe moon is almost gone. Its edges
are clear and sharp. And I wish—
as fervently as grass grows, as full
of thirst as a doe nearing a stream—
that when for the last time night
comes to slide across my face,
it will let me be half so beautiful.
* * * * *
Lola Haskins' most recent collection—Asylum: Improvisations on John Clare (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2019)—was featured in the NY Times Sunday Magazine. Past honors include the Iowa Poetry Prize, two NEAs, four Florida individual artist awards, two Florida Book Awards, narrative poetry prizes from Southern Poetry Review and New England Poetry Review, a Florida's Eden prize for environmental writing, and the Emily Dickinson/Writer Magazine Award from Poetry Society of America.
The progression of images is compelling, and surprising, and takes us to an intriguing place.
ReplyDeleteI find this a powerful expression of that experience of keeping vigil as the moon sets and the longing that creates in the watcher. "As fervently as grass grows, as full of thirst as a doe nearing a stream"--these similes resonate in me and bring me to remembering similar moments of my own, living here on a pond and watching the moon set--so beautiful, yes!
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