for Charles Simic
Old cat, why do you go out at night?
Is it you the lampposts turn on for?
Does the snow fall wishing you will make a track?
The mice have been arguing in whispers.
They do not know whether to worship you or to hide.
The crow seems to understand, but will not explain.
What do you think of the stones in the cemetery?
Which empty grave will be mine?
Do you damn souls when you rub against their carved names?
you should probably know
other people
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2 comments:
i am a sucker for simic, so you had me from the first line. yes, it's derivative, but you really grasp his use of those particular devices. before i have critically analyzed the poem, i get the sense of eerie silence that always comes over me at the end of his poems because of the strange connections.
hm...maybe my criticism is as follows: do you know what you are saying? for example, the cat is taking the role of an almighty god to the mice (who "do not know whether to worship you or to hide"), but the title calls it 'the priest' and the last line describes a priestly gesture. you might need to refine or narrow your personification, or clarify the connection.
i am impressed. i am probably less able to be critical when people write simically, but that might just be because those kinds of things are the best kinds ever.
thanks dan! That helps. I'm switching the name and the last line. Also, I'm wondering if "hopes" is an odd word to put in a simic-like poem.
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