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Once Glimpsed

Text of Poem

Once I thought I saw it
at the edge of my path,
but underbrush builds a wall
of twigs and leaves, keeps you
half-blind back of the wood’s
lattice. But it was there,
a stir different from wind’s breath,
a beckon for me to notice,
no dream, it vanished almost
before I saw it go. Now frost
has shrunk the leaves, matted
the grass, opened thickets,
but nothing shows, my eyes
remember the hunger of something
longed for, deeply craved,
once glimpsed, never known.

First Line
Once I thought I saw it
Original Pub Location
Original Publication Date
1969
Original Citation
Poem (Nov. 1969) 11.
Complete Poems
217
Hearst Collections
Word Count
84
Poetic Form
open
Themes
Twitter Quote
the hunger of something / longed for, deeply craved,