The snail pushes through a green
night, for the grass is heavy
with water and meets over
the bright path he makes, where rain
has darkened the earth’s dark. He
moves in a wood of desire,
pale antlers barely stirring
as he hunts. I cannot tell
what power is at work, drenched there
with purpose, knowing nothing.
What is a snail’s fury? All
I think is that if later
I parted the blades above
the tunnel and saw the thin
trail of broken white across
litter, I would never have
imagined the slow passion
to that deliberate progress.
(Thom Gunn)
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Based on Topics: Night Poems, Power Poems, Work & Career Poems, Desire Poems, Purposes Poems, Progress PoemsBased on Keywords: litter, snail, blades, imagined, tunnel, deliberate, antlers, pushes, hunts