Tuesday, December 12, 2000

Narcissus and Echo by Fred Chappell

1985

Shall the water not remember Ember
my hand's slow gesture, tracing above of
its mirror my half-imaginary airy
portrait? My only belonging longing;
is my beauty, which I take ache
away and then return, as love of
teasing playfully the one being unbeing.
whose gratitude I treasure Is your
moves me. I live apart heart
from myself, yet cannot not
live apart. In the water's tone, stone?
that brilliant silence, a flower Hour,
whispers my name with such slight light:
moment, it seems filament of air, fare
the world becomes cloudswell. well.

3 comments:

Nils Devine said...

To listen to a reading of this poem go to Narcissus and Echo by Fred Chappel, the secord post to my Spoken by Firelight podcast.

Anonymous said...

it's pronounced "Chapple," with a hard Ch like "church" and the rest like "apple," NOT like the famous comedian Dave.

Nils Devine said...

Thanks for the info! When I find the time to get back into recording these things I'll have to edit that one.