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Monday, July 07, 2008

Winter Light

Chiaroscuro

Five o'clock. The bright interiors
of freight forwarders' warehouses
framed in the dusk like a Rembrandt nativity
on an old postage stamp. No camels.
No baby. Planes overhead. Men with forklifts,
ordinarily wise, load cargoes
for distant lands. A single soft flake
lands on my windscreen.
The evening's first star
grows brighter in the sky.

More light-filled poems at readwritepoem

15 comments:

Kay Cooke said...

A neat example of your ability to wonderfully link the grand in with the small. Love it.

Anonymous said...

Of course, you're in New Zealand, I felt a real chill reading this, then saw the piece underneath with its snow and understood! I like the Rembrandt nativity on an old postage stamp.

Anonymous said...

All those nouns and fragments make this very evocative. Lovely.

Anonymous said...

You do a wonderful job arranging a scene of modern life, yet alluding to the timelessness of nature, light, the stars.

Crafty Green Poet said...

I like the brevity of the phrases in this piece and 'ordinarily wise' is an excellent phrase

Anonymous said...

an everyday ocurrence wrapped in the beauty of a single moment noticed...

chicklegirl said...

I especially loved the last four lines, like a benediction.

Gemma Wiseman said...

What a heavenly collection of images! I especially loved the image of a Rembrandt nativity.

Jenn: said...

Comparing the wherehouse interior to a nativity scene is brilliant. Not only can I picture it as that universal image, but now I know exactly how the outside and inside lights differ.

Makes me ready to shed this summer heat!

Anonymous said...

This is lovely. Such an unexpected connection, the warehouse and the nativity, and handled so beautifully. I love "ordinarily wise."

Anonymous said...

Unrelated images connected so well in here!

piece of charcoal split into splinters

Anonymous said...

How did I not see this poem until just now? It's so great. I love the men with forklifts, ordinarily wise. That image is so unique and quirky. Yeah, so, sorry I am so late in getting here.

Anonymous said...

You have weaved an ordinary cloth into an eternal garment.

MaR said...

Beautiful.
Love the Italian title!
Michele sent me to say hello :)

liz elayne lamoreux said...

the contrasting images put me right there as i read...

fantastic.