Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Wally SwistSeptember 23, 2002

after Andre Breton

 

The chiaroscuro of nuance,
the vowels of my wife’s breath,

the soft drenching, the low
of the herd of Hereford across the field,

the light limning the pillow’s edge,
the kiss of bird song, the vermouth of quiet,

the cusp of my wife’s hands
holding a young rabbit,

the soft vowels of my wifeÕs breath,
the beading rain jeweling lines

in the woods on the reeds,
the blankets of old wounds

bundled into the shape of a nap,
the arthritic legs of our old dog, his nose

wet with blossoms, the sweet scent
of hay always the handkerchief

of remembrance, the long road
sleepy with the tirelessness of distance,

the vowels of my wife’s breath,
the embroidery of the angels,

the inhabitants of the grass,
the love we had that owned up to each other.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele at the White House in Washington April 14, 2025. (OSV News photo/Kevin Lamarque, Reuters)
”Do not collaborate in the fight against migrants by the great colonizing countries.”
Kevin ClarkeJune 05, 2025
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Superior, who had asked the high court to overturn a decision by the state supreme court that the agency argued discounted its religious identity.
“I did not expect this—I am humbled beyond words that the Holy Father has chosen me, not from outside, but from among the ranks of the priests of this beloved Diocese,” the bishop-designate said.
In this episode, we dive into a series of candid interviews conducted by veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O'Connell with cardinal-electors from around the world on the new pope.
Inside the VaticanJune 05, 2025