The Rest of the Voyage
Bernard Noel, trns. by Elena Rivera
Graywolf, 2011
841 N765r
the nearby ruins
make a stone coffin of their own remainders
the gaze buries itself then looks back around
hoping to grab hold of the thing that threatens
and which is however nowhere a rusting
of air an exzema on the skin of day
a bird dives toward the cat brushing against him
again and again to the life to the death
"Bernard Noël is a cerebral, urban-realist mystic caught up by the extraordinary in everyday language as it passes by, carried in things themselves. He captures the instant of wonder, filled with longing, lust, and above all necessity, grounding it in earthy satisfaction." —New Pages