Sermon of Lilac
by Bill Yarrow
I.
Our text today is "The night
was a cool bowl of lilac darkness"
from Look Homeward Angel
by the American writer Thomas Wolfe
II.
The night was a lilac bowl of darkness
The dark was a sky of lilac coolness
The bowl was a darkened sky of lilacs
Lilacs bowed in the sky's cool darkness
III.
The sky was a liquid bowl of darkness
The dark was a sky of liquid lilac
The bowl was a lilac source of coolness
Lilacs genuflect in the darkness
Our text today is "The night
was a cool bowl of lilac darkness"
from Look Homeward Angel
by the American writer Thomas Wolfe
II.
The night was a lilac bowl of darkness
The dark was a sky of lilac coolness
The bowl was a darkened sky of lilacs
Lilacs bowed in the sky's cool darkness
III.
The sky was a liquid bowl of darkness
The dark was a sky of liquid lilac
The bowl was a lilac source of coolness
Lilacs genuflect in the darkness
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Author's Note
A version of this poem appeared in The Centrifugal Eye.
Thanks, Eve Hanninen!
The poem appears in Pointed Sentences (BlazeVOX, 2012).
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Thomas shook his head, said, "You still don't get it, do you?"
Fave and amen
Strong patterns and poetic form and line here. Very nice, and happy I get to star you right back.
Cool one, Bill
I was so soothed by this. I love the form, the repetition, variation, the simple declarative sentences. I would love to hear this read out loud. *
I love the word play, Bill. It's lovely yet amuses in an understated way. Fooling with words is a gift when it is skillfully handled as it is here. *
Good formal piece, Bill. I like it.
I love works like this that play with language, and so sparse and clean too. Very nice.
I wondered how you were going to end this. You surprised me. Love it!
*
I'd like to take out a spoon and eat it. Beautiful.
This is a prayer, and a meditation. Especially the last stanza, the last line. Thank you for this ode to my favorite flower. Peace *
Enjoyed the form, and the repetition, and the surprise ending. Also the nod to nature, my favorite. *
Bill, I first read this poem earlier today, and since I’m also reading Look Homeward, Angel, I thought I’d come back and comment when I reached this part of the text. I’ve just come to it, and what impresses me the most, I think, is your desire and vision for this phrase. That, and this happy coincidence in my day. This poem is “a lilac source of coolness.”
Ooooo, this makes me want to bathe in lilacs. Bill, you had me at the title - lilacs being my fave flower. But then the poem is equally stunning. I love how you give life to the flowers - especially with the last sentence. *
I followed Jules to this poem, Bill. Lilacs are my favorite flower too. I won't soon forget "Lilacs genuflect in the darkness." I can see that so clearly. Gorgeous. *
Good poem.
I can smell those lilacs, soon, soon, soon. Let there be spring
Lovely, these lilacs in their various incarnations.. god, I love lilacs.. "When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd..." (I think I got that line right)
Great form here Bill, it gave the lilac so much eternal space
*
*
words becoming liquid echoes. just amazing.
Love this, Bill. :) Such a lovely riff. Lilacs! xo
I genuflect to the lilacs. *
Mm, I love stanzas II and III. Felt refreshing. *
I like this lilac lyric,
the "sky of liquid lilac." *