Queen Anne's Lace
Queen Anne's Lace
Original Text
Collected Poems of Raymond Souster, Vol. 3: 1962-74 (Ottawa: Oberon Press, 1982): 338. PS 8537 O87A17 Robarts Library
2that if you didn't know it
3you'd pass by the rest of your life.
4But once it's been pointed out
5you'll look for it always,
6even in places
7where you know it can't possibly be.
8You'll never tire
9of bending over to examine,
10of marvelling at this
11shyest filigree of wonder
12born among grasses.
13You'll imagine poems
14as brief, as spare,
15so natural with themselves
16as to take your breath away.
Notes
1] Daucus carota, a common biennial wildflower, with clusters of small, white flowerets, that grows in the open wherever it can manage. Cf. "Queen-Anne's Lace," William Carlos Williams, who much admired Souster's poetry. Back to Line
Publication Start Year
1974
Publication Notes
Change-Up (1974)
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire
RPO Edition
2006
Special Copyright
© 1982 Collected Poems of Raymond Souster, Vol. 3: 1962-74 Oberon Press (from which written permission to reproduce must be obtained in advance).