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Collecte Works

Page 29

by Lorine Niedecker


  How white the gulls

  New-sawed

  Springtime's wide

  Lights, lifts

  Beautiful girl—

  July, waxwings

  If only my friend

  Popcorn-can cover

  O late fall

  People, people—

  HOME/WORLD

  My life is hung up

  Get a load

  Easter

  Dusk—

  River-marsh-drowse

  Linnaeus in Lapland

  In Leonardo's light

  Art Center

  Club 26

  My mother saw the green tree toad

  The men leave the car

  Something in the water

  Now in one year

  Watching dan- /cers on skates

  Letter from Ian

  As I paint the street

  Grandfather [Poet's work]

  The Badlands

  To foreclose

  To my small/electric pump

  I visit/the graves

  Scythe

  Fall (“Early morning corn”)

  Chicory flower/on campus

  The wild and wavy event

  Bird singing

  CHURCHILL'S DEATH

  To my pres- /sure pump

  Consider at the outset:

  Alcoholic dream

  Some float off on chocolate bars

  Spring

  As praiseworthy

  The park/“a darling walk/for the mind”

  My Life by Water:

  Collected Poems, 1936-1968

  (London: Fulcrum Press, 1970)

  MY LIFE BY WATER

  My Life by Water

  PAEAN TO PLACE

  NEW GOOSE AND MY FRIEND TREE

  There's a better shine

  My friend tree

  Along the river

  Black Hawk held: In reason

  Remember my little granite pail?

  My coat threadbare

  She had tumult of the brain

  Ash woods, willow, close to shore,

  Audubon

  Gen. Rodimstev's story/(Stalingrad)

  Bombings

  To see the man who took care of our stock

  The museum man!

  Mr. Van Ess bought 14 washcloths?

  Don't shoot the rail!

  Asa Gray wrote Increase Lapham:

  Not feeling well, my wood uncut.

  Grampa's got his old age pension,

  My man says the wind blows from the south,

  I'm a sharecropper

  We know him—Law and Order League—

  That woman!—eyeing houses.

  van Gogh

  The clothesline post is set

  He built four houses

  Well, spring overflows the land,

  Pioneers

  Old man who seined

  You are my friend—

  FOR PAUL

  Nearly landless and on the way to water

  What bird would light

  Dear Paul:

  O Tannenbaum

  Paul/now six years old:

  Some have chimes

  If he is of constant depth

  Laval, Pomeret, Pétain

  Tell me a story about the war.

  How bright you'll find young people,

  Not all that's heard is music. We leave

  The young ones go away to school

  Paul/when the leaves

  BALLADS

  Sorrow moves in wide waves,

  Old Mother turns blue and from us,

  What horror to awake at night

  To Paul now old enough to read:

  In Europe they grow a new bean

  European Travel/(Nazi New Order)

  Depression years

  Wartime

  Brought the enemy down

  Jesse James and his brother Frank

  A student

  Keen and lovely man moved as in a dance

  He lived—childhood summers

  You know, he said, they used to make

  Don't tell me property is sacred!

  Who was Mary Shelley?

  I knew a clean man

  THE YEARS GO BY

  In the great snowfall before the bomb

  Swept snow, Li Po,

  March

  Two old men—

  My father said “I remember

  Dead

  Mother is dead

  The graves

  I've been away from poetry

  He moved in light

  I rose from marsh mud,

  On hearing/the wood pewee

  My mother saw the green tree toad

  Shut up in woods

  To Aeneas who closed his piano

  I am sick with the Time's buying sickness.

  Hi, Hot-and-Humid

  Horse, hello

  Energy glows at the lips—

  February almost March bites the cold.

  I lost you to water, summer

  Birds' mating-fight

  Happy New Year

  T. E. Lawrence

  IN EXCHANGE FOR HAIKU

  Hear

  How white the gulls

  New-sawed

  Popcorn-can cover

  Beautiful girl—

  Lights, lifts

  If only my friend

  O late fall

  Springtime's wide

  July, waxwings

  People, people—

  HOME /WORLD

  My life is hung up

  Easter

  Get a load

  Now in one year

  Dusk—

  Something in the water

  River-marsh-drowse

  Letter from Ian

  The wild and wavy event

  Linnaeus in Lapland

  Club 26

  Art Center

  In Leonardo's light

  The men leave the car

  Bird singing

  As praiseworthy

  Watching dan-/cers on skates

  As I paint the street

  Some float off on chocolate bars

  Poet's work

  To my pres- /sure pump

  The Badlands

  Chicory flower/on campus

  They've lost their leaves

  Sky

  Nothing to speak of

  I visit/the graves

  To my small/electric pump

  To foreclose

  Scythe

  Alcoholic dream

  Consider at the outset:

  Alone

  Alliance

  CHURCHILL'S DEATH

  The park/“a darling walk/for the mind”

  Swedenborg

  Young in Fall I said: the birds

  Spring

  NORTH CENTRAL

  LAKE SUPERIOR

  TRACES OF LIVING THINGS

  WINTERGREEN RIDGE

  “The Earth and Its

  Atmosphere”MS (June 1969)

  There's a better shine

  My friend tree

  Black Hawk held: In reason

  Along the river

  Remember my little granite pail?

  She had tumult of the brain

  Don't shoot the rail!

  Not feeling well, my wood uncut.

  My man says the wind blows from the south,

  To see the man who took care of our stock

  That woman!—eyeing houses.

  The graves

  from Pioneers

  Ash woods, willows close to shore,

  The museum man!

  van Gogh

  The clothesline post is set

  Well, spring overflows the land,

  He built four houses

  February almost March bites the cold.

  Old man who seined

  You are my friend—

  IN EXCHANGE FOR HAIKU

  Hear

  How white the gulls

  New-sawed

  Popcorn-can cover

  Beautiful girl<
br />
  If only my friend

  O late fall

  Springtime's wide

  July—waxwings

  People, people—

  The soil is poor

  Michelangelo

  May you have lumps in your mashed potatoes

  T. E. Lawrence

  To Paul now old enough to read:

  Dear Paul:

  Some have chimes

  Paul/when the leaves

  Who was Mary Shelley?

  I rose from marsh mud,

  To Aeneas who closed his piano

  I've been away from poetry

  He moved in light

  Shut up in woods

  Now in one year

  Dusk

  Something in the water

  River-marsh-drowse

  Linnaeus in Lapland

  The wild and wavy event

  The men leave the car

  Bird singing

  As praiseworthy

  Some float off on chocolate bars

  The Badlands

  I visit/the graves

  To my small/electric pump

  Alcoholic dream

  The park/“a darling walk/for the mind”

  Young in Fall I said: the birds

  And at the blue ice superior spot [from “LAKE SUPERIOR”]

  Wild pigeon [from “LAKE SUPERIOR”]

  The smooth black stone [from “LAKE SUPERIOR”]

  My life / by water

  We are what the seas

  What cause have you

  PAEAN TO PLACE

  The eye

  For best work

  Smile

  Years

  Unsurpassed in beauty

  Ah your face

  Sewing a dress

  I walked/on New Year's Day

  Blue and white

  Wallace Stevens

  HIS CARPETS FLOWERED

  J. F. Kennedy after/the Bay of Pigs

  “Shelter”

  The man of law

  Alliance

  WINTERGREEN RIDGE

  “The Very Veery” MS

  (June 1969)

  We are what the seas

  PAEAN TO PLACE [excerpts]

  My friend tree

  New-sawed

  The graves

  Wallace Stevens

  Ah your face

  Alliance

  She had tumult of the brain

  My man says the wind blows from the south,

  He built four houses

  WINTERGREEN RIDGE [excerpts]

  Blue and white

  To the child [“Paul/when the leaves”]

  Old man who seined

  Sewing a dress

  I've been away from poetry

  I rose from marsh mud,

  Along the river

  Bash

  THOMAS JEFFERSON [excerpt]

  DARWIN [excerpt]

  INDEX OF TITLES OR FIRST LINES

  The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

  1937

  A country's economics sick

  A lawnmower's one of the babies I'd have

  A monster owl

  A student

  A working man appeared in the street

  Adirondack Summer

  Ah your face

  Alcoholic dream

  Alliance

  Allied Convoy/Reaches Russia

  Alone

  Along the river

  Am I real way out in space

  And at the blue ice superior spot

  And what you liked

  Art Center

  AS I LAY DYING

  As I paint the street

  As I shook the dust

  As praiseworthy

  Asa Gray wrote Increase Lapham:

  Ash woods, willow, close to shore

  Audubon

  Automobile Accident

  Autumn

  Autumn Night

  Bash

  Beautiful girl—

  Beyond what

  Bird singing

  Birds' mating-fight

  Black Hawk held: In reason

  Blue and white

  Bombings

  Bonpland

  Brought the enemy down

  Can knowledge be conveyed that isn't felt?

  Canvass

  Chicory flower/on campus

  Chimney Sweep

  CHURCHILL'S DEATH

  CITY TALK

  Cleaned all surfaces

  Club

  Come In

  Coming out of Sleep

  Consider

  Consider at the outset:

  Coopered at Fish Creek

  Could You Be Right

  Cricket-song—

  DARWIN

  Dead

  Dear Mona, Mary and all

  Dear Paul:

  Depression years

  DOMESTIC AND UNAVOIDABLE

  Don't shoot the rail!

  Don't tell me property is sacred!

  Du Bay

  Dusk—

  Easter

  Easter Greeting

  Energy glows at the lips—

  European Travel/(Nazi New Order)

  Fall (“Early morning corn”)

  Fall (“We must pull”)

  FANCY ANOTHER DAY GONE

  Far reach

  February almost March bites the cold

  FLORIDA

  Fog-thick morning—

  For best work

  For exhibition

  For sun and moon and radio

  Foreclosure

  Frog noise/suddenly stops

  From my bed I see

  Gen. Rodimstev's story/(Stalingrad)

  Get a load

  Grampa's got his old age pension

  Hand Crocheted Rug

  Happy New Year

  He built four houses

  He lived—childhood summers

  He moved in light

  Hear

  Here it gives the laws for fishing thru the ice—

  Hi, Hot-and-Humid

  High class human

  High, lovely, light

  HIS CARPETS FLOWERED

  Honest

  Hop press

  Horse, hello

  Hospital Kitchen

  How bright you'll find young people

  How white the gulls

  Human bean

  I am sick with the Time's buying sickness.

  I doubt I'll get silk stockings out

  I fear this war

  I hear the weather

  I heard

  I knew a clean man

  I lost you to water, summer

  I married

  I rose from marsh mud

  I said to my head, Write something.

  I sit in my own house

  I spent my money

  I visit/the graves

  I walked/from Chicago…

  I walked/on New Year's Day

  If he is of constant depth

  If I were a bird

  If only my friend

  Illustrated night clock's

  I'm a sharecropper

  I'm sorry to have missed

  In Europe they grow a new bean while here

  In every part of every living thing

  In Leonardo's light

  In moonlight lies

  In the great snowfall before the bomb

  In the transcendence

  Inland then

  Iron the common element of earth

  I've been away from poetry

  J. F. Kennedy after/the Bay of Pigs

  JEFFERSON AND ADAMS

  Jesse James and his brother Frank

  Jim Poor's his name

  Joliet

  July, waxwings

  Just before she died

  Katharine Anne

  Keen
and lovely man moved as in a dance

  Kepler

  Lady in the Leopard Coat

  LAKE SUPERIOR

  Last night the trash barrel

  Laundromat

  Laval, Pomeret, Pétain

  Let's play a game.

  Letter from Ian

  Letter from Paul

  Lights, lifts

  Linnaeus in Lapland

  Look close

  Look, the woods, the sky, our home

  Lugubre for a child

  LZ

  LZ's

  (L.Z.)

  March

  Margaret Fuller

  May you have lumps in your mashed potatoes

  Memorial Day

  Mergansers

  Michelangelo

  Missus Dorra

  Mother is dead

  Motor cars

  Mourning Dove

  Mr. Van Ess bought 14 washcloths?

  Museum

  Musical Toys

  My coat threadbare

  My father said “I remember

  My friend the black and white collie

  My friend tree

  My Life by Water

  My life is hung up

  My man says the wind blows from the south

  My mother saw the green tree toad

  Nearly landless and on the way to water

  New!

  News

  New-sawed

  NEXT YEAR OR I FLY MY ROUNDS TEMPESTUOUS

  Night

  No matter where you are

  No retiring summer stroke

  Not all harsh sounds displease—

  Not all that's heard is music. We leave

  Not feeling well, my wood uncut.

  Nothing nourishing

  Nothing to speak of

  Now go to the party

  Now in one year

  Nursery Rhyme

  O late fall

  O let's glee glow as we go

  O Tannenbaum

  “Oh ivy green

  Old Hamilton hailed the man from the grocery store:

  Old man who seined

  Old Mother turns blue and from us

  On a row of cabins/next my home

  On Columbus Day he set out for the north

  On hearing/the wood pewee

  Otherwise

  PAEAN TO PLACE

  Paul

  Paul, hello

  Paul/ when the leaves

  Peace

  People, people—

  Petrou his name was sorrow

  Pioneers

  POEMS AT THE PORTHOLE

  Poet Percival said: I struck a lode

  Poet's work

  Popcorn-can cover

  PROGRESSION

  Promise of Brilliant Funeral

  Property is poverty—

  Radisson:

  Regards to Mr. Glover

  Remember my little granite pail?

  River-marsh-drowse

  Ruby of corundum

  Santayana's

  Schoolcraft left the Soo—canoes

  Scuttle up the workshop

  Scythe

  See the girls in shorts on their bicycles

  Seven years a charming woman wore

  Sewing a dress

  She grew where every spring

  She had tumult of the brain

  She was a mourner too. Now she's gone

  “Shelter”

  Shut up in woods

  Sky

  Sleep's dream

  Smile

  So he said/on radio

  So this was I

  So you're married, young man

  Some float off on chocolate bars

 

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