Woman to Man - by Judith Wright

[with-rainfall.livejournal.com]

Woman to Man - Judith Wright

The eyeless labourer in the night,
the selfless, shapeless seed I hold,
builds for its resurrection day---
silent and swift and deep from sight
foresees the unimagined light.

This is no child with a child's face;
this has no name to name it by;
yet you and I have known it well.
This is our hunter and our chase,
the third who lay in our embrace.

This is the strength that your arm knows,
the arc of flesh that is my breast,
the precise crystals of our eyes.
This is the blood's wild tree that grows
the intricate and folded rose.

This is the maker and the made;
this is the question and reply;
the blind head butting at the dark,
the blaze of light along the blade.
Oh hold me, for I am afraid.

---------

For some reason I'm not a fan of Judith Wright (yeah, I know. Shock horror!), but this is one of my favourite poems of all time.

By the way, sorry for spamming the comm, but I'm pretty well on a roll today.

Comments

[toast-is-lovely.livejournal.com]

oh you're not alone in your un-love for wright. This was one her rare exceptions for me too, i used it in the t.e.e.
i'm in the thicket of exams at the mo,w ill look for the dawe afterwards!

[with-rainfall.livejournal.com]

i'm in the thicket of exams at the mo,w ill look for the dawe afterwards!

No rush, really. :P
Thanks, and good luck with the exams.

[kairia.livejournal.com]

I've only read Request To A Year and Hunting Snake - didn't enjoy the latter much. The third stanza is simply superb, thank you for posting this! Sorry I can't help you with your request - tried searching for it but was unsuccessful!