The Song
By Carol Hamilton
Rilke says breath is the poem.
God sighed us into existence,
a longing for company.
The emptied chairs around the table
cry out to be filled.
Once again I suck in dawn,
try to release that light
little by little down the shaft of day,
that sweet air with gentle sighs
across the weeping reeds of evening.
Each glitter may dance on forever.
But different eyes from ours
can see it. Tonight such words,
such efforts and even
such music is drowned out
by this heartfelt song of frogs.
Carol Hamilton has received a Southwest Book Award, Oklahoma Book Award, Cherubim
Award, Pegasus Award, Chiron Review Chapbook Award, David Ray Poetry Prize, Byline
Literary Awards for both short story and poetry, Warren Keith Poetry Prize. She has published
17 books of poetry, legends, and children’s novels. She is a former Poet Laureate of Oklahoma,
nominated five times for a Pushcart Prize. Her most recent poetry book is SUCH DEATHS
published by the Visual Arts Cooperative in Chicago. She lives in Midwest City, Oklahoma.
