Altitude
I wonder
how it would be here with you,
where the wind
that has shaken off its dust in low valleys
touches one cleanly,
as with a new-washed hand,
and pain
is as the remote hunger of droning things,
and anger
but a little silence
sinking into the great silence.
Credit
This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on December 12, 2020, by the Academy of American Poets.
About this Poem
“Altitude” originally appeared in Sun-Up and Other Poems (B.W. Huebsch, inc., 1920).
Author
Lola Ridge

Born in Dublin on December 12, 1873, Lola Ridge grew up in mining towns in New Zealand and Australia. When she was thirty-four years old, she immigrated to the United States, eventually settling in New York City.
Date Published: 1920-01-01
Source URL: https://poets.org/poem/altitude