Wednesday March 12<\/p>\n
“Conversation in Moscow” is one of Denise Levertov’s longer poems (c. 8 pages). It is an account of a conversation at a teashop or a bar in Moscow: a scientist, a political analyst, a poet, Denise Levertov and the women who translates for all of them. The final lines move me deeply and remind me of the beauty and depth of the human condition: “The Poet never must lose despair.”<\/p>\n
What offers us adults the resources to live our commitments with courage and grace? Try reading these lines out loud.<\/p>\n
john sj<\/p>\n
p.s. As I finish writing this post, it looks like a wild and windy snow storm. One good thing about a big snow storm this late is that it usually warms up and melts before very long.<\/p>\n
And the poet–it’s midnight, the room is half empty, soon we must part–
\nthe poet, his presence
\nursine and kind, shifting his weight in a chair too small for him,
\nquietly says, and shyly:
\n“The Poet
\nnever must lose despair.”<\/p>\n
Then our eyes indeed
\nmeet and hold,
\nAll of us know, smiling
\nin common knowledge–
\neven the palest spirit among us, burdened
\nas he is with weight of abstractions–
\nall of us know he means<\/p>\n
we mustn’t, any of us, lose touch with the source,
\npretend it’s not there, cover over
\nthe mineshaft of passion
\ndespair somberly tolls its bell
\nfrom the depths of,
\nand wildest joy
\nsings out of too,
\nflashing
\nthe scales of its laughing, improbable music,<\/p>\n
grief and delight entwined in the dark down there.<\/p>\n
from Denise Levertov, “Conversation in Moscow” in Freeing of the Dust<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wednesday March 12 “Conversation in Moscow” is one of Denise Levertov’s longer poems (c. 8 pages). It is an account of a conversation at a teashop or a bar in Moscow: a scientist, a political analyst, a poet, Denise Levertov … Continue reading