If you could be found on a summer's night
weaving the calls of the night birds, long and sharp
into ropes that stretch from the earth to the sky,
Which, spiraling
are tangled between the stars;
If a man with a single eye could see you,
unveiled and true
on your altar of silver tears, and add to their number –
If you would look up, and breathe one vowel of naught,
By heaven, I ask to be drowned, then, and become
Nothing, a shadow, a ghost of a tune;
nothing, I say, a sliver in the skin of a god
plucked out and thrown away, but not before
it tastes of Paradise
In your smallest finger is that which lies at the heart of the world:
Eternity hand in hand with itself;
Let me look on you once, and then do what you will,
make all my nights unquiet horrors,
my life a game for little gods, and I, beset, a failing earthly pawn –
Give me eyes to see what may be seen; in truth,
I can be silent, and would hear you speak.
Hello all,
It’s almost July, which means Long Oddities is nearly a year old. Can’t believe how fast time passes!
I’m writing this just to let you know that I will be taking a bit of a break over the months of July and August — I’ll be switching to a biweekly schedule for regular posts. (The Journal will continue as per normal, since it’s more of a writing exercise.) The usual schedule will resume in September.
I also wanted to say a short but heartfelt thank you to those who’ve read, commented, subscribed, restacked, encouraged, and lurked over this past year — I’m so grateful to all of you, and thrilled beyond measure that I get to share my writing with you every week. I could never ask for a stranger, or a happier, year.
Here’s to another equally wonderful one!
Iris Shaw
I hope you have a lovely break. Thank you for sharing your beautiful poetry.
I'll miss you during you break...I'm a big fan!