Tuesday, January 20, 2009

A Certain Day

Variation on a Theme by Rilke
by Denise Levertov

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.


9 comments:

  1. Oh Sara...So, I'm already a teary-eyed mess, but that just set me off. That is an undeniably perfect choice for this day.

    Thank you.

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  2. this day is definately a certain day :)

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  3. So... I like this a lot better than the official poem of the day.

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  4. Such a lovely and appropriate choice. What an amazing moment in the history of our country.

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  5. Jackie, YES! With all due respect to Elizabeth Alexander, who's poem was good, this one is BETTER! Why didn't they consult SARA?

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  6. I love this poem. It is one I would like to have etched on my mirror. Good choice.

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  7. Oh, just right. I adore Denise Levertov.

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  8. Sara,

    How perfect a poem for such a special day. It reads like it was especially written for Obama's inauguration.

    Thanks.

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