It’s a small anthology that I’ve occasionally dipped into, having heard Elaine Feinstein speaking some months back on Radio 4. Cities is a collection of poems inspired (as you might expect) by experiences and friendships in different cities around the world.
This beautifully paced piece captures perfectly the sensation she describes. The nostalgic ache of remembered peace before the storm – and the suffering that releases ‘the blood flow of poetry’ is an image that I won’t forget in a long time. It doesn’t matter that we don’t know precisely what caused the disaster – all we know is that it is a betrayal, perhaps by the person she lies in the sun with at the start. What matters is the way she evokes the experience, and this is what makes it so instantly recognisable.
Amazing.
Rush Cutter Bay, Sydney
Below us, the sea poured into the city,
silver and shimmering. We lay
together; hot, exhausted, happy.
Doesn’t it often happen this way,
just before some unforeseen disaster
cuts you open with a casual
flick – like a knife stuck in an Asian fruit –
that the world feels particularly gentle?The yachts danced below us
on shiny waters, there were
orange reflections in the windows.
How could I guess
the pain waiting on the next page for me?
The blank of betrayal which would
rapidly scoop out my life and release
the blood flow of poetry.from Cities, p37
This Post Has 2 Comments
Beautiful. I like the way she mixed different images–the sea, fruit, pages of a book–and made them work together. That’s hard to do.
I appreciate your blog although I don’t have time to read it as often as I’d like. Thanks for providing lots of good food for thought.
thanks for the comment – i completely agree re mixed images…