Clouds Above The Sea
by Philip Levine
My father and mother, two tiny figures,
side by side, facing the clouds that move
in from the Atlantic. August, ’33.
The whole weight of the rain to come, the weight
of all that has fallen on their houses
gathers for a last onslaught, and yet they
hold, side by side, in the eye of memory.
What was she wearing, you ask, what did he
say to make the riding clouds hold their breath?
Our late August afternoons were chilly
in America, so I shall drape her throat
in a silken scarf above a black dress.
I could give her a rope of genuine pearls
as a gift for bearing my father’s sons,
and let each pearl glow with a child’s fire.
I could turn her toward you now with a smile
so that we might joy in her constancy,
I could bury the past in dust rising,
dense rain falling, and the absence of sky
so that you could turn this page and smile.
My father and mother, two tiny figures,
side by side, facing the clouds that move
in from the Atlantic. They are silent
under the whole weight of the rain to come.
End of the poem
15 random poems
- Beggars by William Wordsworth
- Solitude: An Ode poem – Alexander Pope
- Brown’s Descent by Robert Frost
- Валерий Брюсов – Фонарики
- Epitaph For Fire And Flower by Sylvia Plath
- Orlando Furioso Canto 19 by Ludovico Ariosto
- Robert Burns: The Farewell To the Brethren of St. James’ Lodge, Tarbolton:
- Стефан Малларме – Подавленное тучей
- Objector by William Stafford
- Anecdote For Fathers by William Wordsworth
- In Thoughtless Mind by Satish Verma
- In Abeyance by Satish Verma
- Огюст Барбье – Кола ди Риенци
- The Hemp by Stephen Vincent Benet
- Mother Ocean poem – Amy E. Johnsen poems | Poems and Poetry
Some external links:
Duckduckgo.com – the alternative in the US
Quant.com – a search engine from France, and also an alternative, at least for Europe
Yandex – the Russian search engine (it’s probably the best search engine for image searches).
Philip Levine ( 1928 – 2015) was an American poet best known for his poems about working-class Detroit. He taught for more than thirty years in the English department of California State University, Fresno and held teaching positions at other universities as well. He served on the Board of Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets from 2000 to 2006, and was appointed Poet Laureate of the United States for 2011–2012