By Michael McClure
It’s the mystery of the hunt that intrigues me,
That drives us like lemmings, but cautiously—
The search for a bright square cloud—the scent of lemon verbena—
Or to learn rules for the game the sea otters
Play in the surf.
It is these small things—and the secret behind them
That fill the heart.
The pattern, the spirit, the fiery demon
That link them together
And pull their freedom into our senses,
The smell of a shrub, a cloud, the action of animals
—The rising, the exuberance, when the mystery is unveiled.
It is these small things
That when brought into vision become an inferno.
Michael McClure, "The Mystery of the Hunt" from Of Indigo and Saffron: New and Selected Poems. Copyright © 2011 by Michael McClure. Reprinted by permission of University of California Press.
Source: Of Indigo and Saffron: New and Selected Poems (University of California Press, 2011)
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