A National Poetry Month surprise

By Jack Brummet

When I walked into Third Place Books yesterday, they were handing out a mimeographed/photocopied (?) copy of one of my favorite poems:  James Wright's "Lying In A Hammock At William Duffy's Farm In Pine Island, Minnesota."  How wonderful is that?

Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy's Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota

Over my head, I see the bronze butterfly,

Asleep on the black trunk,

blowing like a leaf in green shadow.

Down the ravine behind the empty house,

The cowbells follow one another

Into the distances of the afternoon.

To my right,

In a field of sunlight between two pines,

The droppings of last year's horses

Blaze up into golden stones.

I lean back, as the evening darkens and comes on.

A chicken hawk floats over, looking for home.

I have wasted my life. 

- James Arlington Wright 

                  ---o0o---

A favorite poem: James Wright's "Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy's Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota"

"Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy's Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota"
By James Wright

Listen to the recording on Poets.org.

Over my head, I see the bronze butterfly,
Asleep on the black trunk,
blowing like a leaf in green shadow.
Down the ravine behind the empty house,
The cowbells follow one another
Into the distances of the afternoon.
To my right,
In a field of sunlight between two pines,
The droppings of last year's horses
Blaze up into golden stones.
I lean back, as the evening darkens and comes on.
A chicken hawk floats over, looking for home.
I have wasted my life.
---o0o---