In the Dark

I recently stumbled across a book of poetry by Alice Oswald, a name that was then quite new to me. Since then she’s quickly established herself as one of my absolute favourites, and I’ve acquired as many of her collections as I’ve been able to get my hands on.

Her verse is full of energy and vitality and she has an uncanny ability to make her words pull you along with them. Her favourite themes include many relating to the natural world, but she handles such material in a way that manages to be inspirational without being sentimental (or just plain vacuous). I recommend her brilliant third collection Woods etc particularly strongly.

I’ve taken this one, Various Portents, as an example. I first saw it on Jeanette Winterson’s blog. It’s a Christmas poem, so a bit out of season, but I love the playful way she mixes the lexicon of modern astronomy with the familiar language of the nativity scene. Superb.

Various stars. Various kings.
Various sunsets, signs, cursory insights.

Many minute attentions, many knowledgeable watchers,
Much cold, much overbearing darkness.

Various long midwinter Glooms.
Various Solitary and Terrible stars.
Many Frosty Nights, many previously Unseen Sky-flowers.
Many people setting out (some of them kings) all clutching at stars.

More than one North star, more than one South star.
Several billion elliptical galaxies, bubble nebulae, binary systems.
Various dust lanes, various routes through varying thickness of Dark,
Many tunnels into deep space, minds going back and forth.

Many visions, many digitally enhanced heavens,
All kinds of glistenings being gathered into telescopes:
Fireworks, gasworks, white-streaked works of Dusk,
Works of wonder and or water, snowflakes, stars of frost …

Various dazed astronomers dilating their eyes,
Various astronauts setting out into laughterless earthlessness,
Various 5,000-year-old moon maps,
Various blindmen feeling across the heavens in Braille.

Various gods making beautiful works in bronze,
Brooches, crowns, triangles, cups and chains,
Various crucifixes, all sorts of nightsky necklaces.
Many Wise Men remarking the irregular weather.

Many exile energies, many low-voiced followers,
Watchers of whisps of various glowing spindles,
Soothsayers, hunters in the High Country of the Zodiac,
Seafarers tossing, tied to a star…

Various people coming home (some of them kings). Various headlights.

Two or three children standing or sitting on the low wall.
Various winds, the Sea Wind, the sound-laden Winds of Evening
Blowing the stars towards them, bringing snow.

This entry was posted on March 18, 2010 at 1:57 pm and is filed under Poetry with tags Alice Oswald, Poetry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.