Let us begin with a simple line, Drawn as a child would draw it, to indicate the horizon, More real than the real horizon, Which is less than line, Which is visible abstraction, a ratio. The line ravishes the page with implications Of white earth, white sky! The horizon moves as we move, Making us feel central. But the horizon is an empty shell -- Strange radius whose center is peripheral. As the horizon draws us on, withdrawing, The line draws us in, Requiring further lines, Engendering curves, verticals, diagonals, Urging shades, shapes, figures... What should we place, in all good faith, On the horizon? A stone? An empty chair? A submarine? Take your time. Take it easy. The horizon will not stop abstracting us. Used with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, P.O. Box 271, Port Townsend, WA 98368-0271, www.cc.press.org | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE QUALITY OF COURAGE by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET ADOLF EICHMANN by HAYDEN CARRUTH DESPAIR by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE WORD OF AN ENGINEER by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON THE STARLING; SONNET by AMY LOWELL SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: MAGRADY GRAHAM by EDGAR LEE MASTERS |