VESPERS
…[this poem] was begun in Magaquiz as we looked west from our cottage, after reading fairy tales to the children, when we saw low in the sunset, Venus, under a slim crescent moon. The verse, however, did not take form until we had just settled into our Annapolis house on Spa Creek with a western view. When I had finished the usual evening readings, I looked up and saw Venus high in the sky. I wrote:
The children, told
Of Cinderella
At that dream window
Close their eyes.
While we, lifetimes older,
Almost wonder
What magic may answer
(As twilight fades)
Hearts’ fond sighs…
When look: like a prince’s jewel,
A crystal slipper,
Venus returning
Blooms, in our dooryard skies.
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