One Ran Before
July 6, 2023By the Road to the Air Base
July 6, 2023Dark spring
My mother
Foresaw deaths
And walked among
Chrysanthemums,
Winecolored,
Withered rose,
The earthy blossoms.
My very breath
Disowned
In nights of study,
And page by page
I came on spring.
The rats run on the roof,
These words come hard—
Sadder than cockcrow
In a dreamless, earthen sleep.
The Christ, eternal
In the scented cold; my love,
Her hand on the sill
White, as if out of earth;
And spring, the sleep of the dead.
Yvor Winters
Yvor Winters (1900-1968) was an American poet and literary critic who was associated with the conservative literary movement known as the "New Critics." His most famous works include the poetry collection "The Journey" and the critical study "In Defense of Reason." Winters' poetry often dealt with themes of nature, history, and the human experience.