Sunday, August 22, 2010

Poem of the Week: "Fabliau of Florida," by Wallace Stevens

Today was a bit panic-inducing. When I went to log onto this blog earlier, Google showed that it had been deleted. Apparently, my entire Google account had been compromised (which is why some of you may have gotten spam from my email address...sorry), but once I got the situation taken care of, my blog was right where I left it. I can't even tell you how scared I was that this blog had disappeared. It's been my touchstone in this not-so-wonderful year, and losing it would have really devastated me.

So, to make a long story short, I wasn't much in the mood to go poem-hunting today. But, remembering my faithful readers, I grabbed my Wallace Stevens collection and decided to find something. I opened it right to this poem, which I think is appropriate for this time of year and the wrap-up of summer vacations and laziness. It's short and simple, but like all of Stevens's poems, it shows an inventiveness no other writer can copy (plus, how cool is the phrase "sultry moon-monsters"?!). Enjoy!


Fabliau of Florida, by Wallace Stevens

Barque of phosphor
On the palmy beach,

Move outward into heaven,
Into the alabasters
And night blues.

Foam and cloud are one.
Sultry moon-monsters
Are dissolving.

Fill your black hull
With white moonlight.

There will never be an end
To this droning of the surf.

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