Carolyn Kizer Poems (13 Poems)
The Intruder (Carolyn Kizer Poem)
My mother– preferring the strange to the tame: Dove-note, bone marrow, deer dung, Frog’s belly distended with finny young, Leaf-mould wilderness, hare-bell, toadstool, Odd, small snakes loving through the leaves, Metallic beetles rambling over stones: all Wild and natural -flashed … Continue reading
The Ungrateful Garden (Carolyn Kizer Poem)
Midas watched the golden crust That formed over his steaming sores, Hugged his agues, loved his lust, But damned to hell the out-of-doors Where blazing motes of sun impaled The serrid roses, metal-bright. “Those famous flowers,” Midas wailed, “Have scorched … Continue reading
Mud Soup (Carolyn Kizer Poem)
1. Had the ham bone, had the lentils, Got to meat store for the salt pork, Got to grocery for the celery. Had the onions, had the garlic, Borrowed carrots from the neighbor. Had the spices, had the parsley. One … Continue reading
On a Line From Valery (Gulf War) (Carolyn Kizer Poem)
Tout le ciel vert se meurt Le dernier arbre brûle. The whole green sky is dying. The last tree flares With a great burst of supernatural rose Under a canopy of poisonous airs. Could we imagine our return to prayers … Continue reading
On a Line from Valéry (The Gulf War) (Carolyn Kizer Poem)
The whole green sky is dying.The last tree flares With a great burst of supernatural rose Under a canopy of poisonous airs. Could we imagine our return to prayers To end in time before time’s final throes, The green sky … Continue reading
Parent’s Pantoum (Carolyn Kizer Poems)
for Maxine Kumin Where did these enormous children come from, More ladylike than we have ever been? Some of ours look older than we feel. How did they appear in their long dresses More ladylike than we have ever been? … Continue reading
Reunion (Carolyn Kizer Poem)
For more than thirty years we hadn’t met. I remembered the bright query of your face, That single-minded look,intense and stern, Yet most important -how could I forget?- Was what your taught me inadvertantly (tutored by books and parents, even … Continue reading
A Song for Muriel (Carolyn Kizer Poem)
No-one explains me because There is nothing to explain. It’s all right here Very clear. O for my reputations sake To be difficult and opaque! No-one explains me because Though myopic, I see plain. I just put it down With … Continue reading
American Beauty (Carolyn Kizer Poem)
For Ann London As you described your mastectomy in calm detail and bared your chest so I might see the puckered scar, “They took a hatchet to your breast!” I said. “What an Amazon you are.” When we were girls … Continue reading
Cultural Evolution (Carolyn Kizer Poem)
When from his cave, young Mao in his youthful mind A work to renew old China first designed, Then he alone interpreted the law, and from tradtional fountains scorned to draw: But when to examine every part he came, Marx … Continue reading
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