Nature
Irradiations: XXXI
From Irradiations: Sand and Spray (1915)
My stiff-spread arms
Break into sudden gesture;
My feet seize upon the rhythm;
My hands drag it upwards:
Thus I create the dance.
I drink of the red bowl of the sunlight:
I swim through seas of rain:
I dig my toes into earth:
I taste the smack of the wind:
I am myself:
I live.
The temples of the gods are forgotten or in ruins:
Professors are still arguing about the past and the future:
I am sick of reading marginal notes on life,
I am weary of following false banners:
I desire nothing more intensely or completely than this present;
There is nothing about me you are more likely to notice than my being:
Let me therefore rejoice silently,
A golden butterfly glancing against an unflecked wall.
Cite this poem
MLA
Fletcher, John Gould. “Irradiations: XXXI.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/fletcher/35/.
Chicago
Fletcher, John Gould. “Irradiations: XXXI.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/fletcher/35/.
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