The Luxury of Hesitation [excerpt from The Proof from Motion]

1932 –

2023

things 
forgotten
I could


burn in hell forever


set the glass
down, our
emotion's moment


eyes vs sunlight


how removed
here, from
here


towards the unfamiliar and


frankincense forests
against the discerning light


everybody
sudden


frightful indeed, the sound of
traffic and
no appetite


the crowd


I would like to be
beautiful when
written

"Horse and Rider" by Keith Waldrop | Click to enlarge

Below the Earth

My ﬁrst glance takes in
an army, tens of thousands ready
armed. As a mirror reﬂects
indistinctly and with a feeble
light, so it cracks and
soon fades. From its surface a clear
image of the beholder.
In these paintings: harbors, promontories,
shores, rivers, fountains,

Keith Waldrop

2009

Light Travels

        1


        common time I follow you un-          
        kept secret on 
        a basic undersound
 






        2


        common time I follow you un-
        kept secret on 
        a basic undersound


        this is the first part of the rhyme
        allow for sequences of overheard
 






        3


        this is the first part of the rhyme
        allow for sequences of overheard


        close the curtains but
        playful elaborations of other-
        wise arrogant variations keeping
        the window open
 






        4


        close the curtains

Keith Waldrop

1998

The Real Subject [Whir]

Do not alarm yourself, I
could not rest content with 
moral lectures and continual 
repetition

like the solar system, I
could not hold my head up, made 
endlessly to 
glow

destined for grand ceremonies, I
was much affected by finding myself so
thin and so worn
down

(we use theory
to mean it is possible to 
choose, e.g., why I am just the
size I am)

a million million, a
cool and mortifying manner — what 
governs
motions

Keith Waldrop

2004

Poems

The Luxury of Hesitation [excerpt from The Proof from Motion]

More by this poet

Below the Earth

Light Travels

The Real Subject [Whir]

Poems

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The Luxury of Hesitation [excerpt from The Proof from Motion]

More by this poet

Below the Earth

Light Travels

The Real Subject [Whir]

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