EMERGENCY KIT Poems for Strange Times edited by jo SHAPCOTTand MATTHEW SWEENEY
S faberandfaber Contents
Introduction, xv
Hamnavoe Market GEORGE MACKAY BROWN, 3 A Constable Calls SEAM us HEANEY, 4 No MARK DOTY, 5 Red Roses ANNE SEXTON, 6 Harold's Walk GEOFFREY LEHMANN, 7 Owl GEORGE MACBETH, IO A Bee PETER DIDSBURY, II The Heaven of Animals JAMES DICKEY, 12 Rat, O Rat.. . CHRISTOPHER LOGUE, 13 My Rival's House Liz LOCHHEAD, 14 A Doll's House KIT WRIGHT, 16 The Condom Tree CHASE TWICHELL, 17 Smoke SUSAN MITCHELL, 18 Listen Carefully PHILIP LEVINE, 20 'More Light! More Light!' ANTHONY HECHT, 21 I Am a Cameraman DOUGLAS DUNN, 22 Time Out MAURICE RIORDAN, 23 Mr and Mrs Scotland Are Dead KATHLEEN JAMIE, 26 Brief Lives OLIVE SENIOR, 27 Apple Island ROBERT GRAVES, 28 All Except Hannibal ROBERT GRAVES, 28 Palm Tree King JOHN AGARD, 29 Emergency Kit TANURE OJAIDE, 31 The Transposition of Clermont LES MURRAY, 32 Mercian Hymns IX, XII GEOFFREY HILL, 33 The Making of the Drum EDWARD KAMAU BRATHWAITE, 34 The Silent Piano LOUIS SIMPSON, 38 Bedtime Story GEORGE MACBETH, 38 The Horses EDWIN MUIR, 40 Johann Joachim Quantz's Five Lessons w. s. GRAHAM, 42 Variations for Two Pianos DONALD JUSTICE, 45 An American Roadside Elegy DAVE SMITH, 46 The Dream of Wearing Shorts Forever LES MURRAY, 47
[vii] Swineherd EILEAN NI CHUILLEANAIN, 50 Studying the Language EILEAN NI CHUILLEANAIN, 51 Diving into the Wreck ADRIENNE RICH, 51 Punishment SEAMUS HEANEY, 54 A Disused Shed in County Wexford DEREK MAHON, 56 The Bright Lights of Sarajevo TONY HARRISON, 58 Lightenings: viii SEAMUS HEANEY, 59 The Season of Phantasmal Peace DEREK WALCOTT, 60 From the Domain of Arnheim EDWIN MORGAN, 61 Ghetto MICHAEL LONGLEY, 62 Before SEAN O'BRIEN, 64 Swimming in the Flood JOHN BURNSIDE, 66 A Surprise in the Peninsula FLEUR ADCOCK, 67 The Visible Baby PETER REDGROVE, 68 Child Burial PAULA MEEHAN, 69 Cut SYLVIA PLATH, 70 Two SongS ADRIENNE RICH, 71 'O little one, this longing is the pits' MARILYN HACKER, 73 Ecstasy SHARON OLDS, 73 Coming HEATHER MCHUGH, 74 Spilt Milk SARAH MAGUIRE, 75 Maura THOMAS LYNCH, 76 Behold the Lilies of the Field ANTHONY HECHT, 77 Ye haue heard this yarn afore PETER READING, 79 Crusoe in England ELIZABETH BISHOP, 81 Moon Landing w. H. AUDEN, 86 Landing on the Moon ODIA OFEIMUN, 87 Outward LOUIS SIMPSON, 88 The Painter JOHN ASHBERY, 89 The Lost Pilot JAMES TATE, 90 Skywriting JAMIE GRANT, 92 Quiet Nights RAYMOND CARVER, 94 Lives DEREK MAHON, 94 The Red Judge D. M. BLACK, 96 The Video Box: 25 EDWIN MORGAN, 97 Lighthouse GERARD WOODWARD, 99
[viii] Popular Mechanics CHARLES SIMIC, IOO Always MARK STRAND, IOI I Am a Finn JAMES TATE, 102 I Am Still a Finn JAMES TATE, 103 Consolation TANURE OJAIDE, 104 The Turtle WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS, 105 The Fish in the Stone RITA DOVE, 106 The Sea Eats the Land at Home GEORGE AWOONOR-WILLIAMS, 108 Meeting the British PAUL MULDOON, 109 In the Country of the Black Pig CHRISTOPHER HOPE, 109 Shame RICHARD WILBUR, IIO The Applicant SYLVIA PLATH, HI Black March STEVIE SMITH, 113 Badly-Chosen Lover ROSEMARY TONKS, 114 Hydromaniac ROSEMARY TONKS, 115 My Shoes CHARLES SIMIC, 115 Dream Songs 4, 63 JOHN BERRYMAN, 116 Henry by Night JOHN BERRYMAN, 117 Memories of West Street and Lepke ROBERT LOWELL, 118 The Bight ELIZABETH BISHOP, 120 Boat Poem BERNARD SPENCER, 121 The Quality of Sprawl LES MURRAY, 123 The Monuments JOHN ASH, 125 A Low Temple ARUN KOLATKAR, 126 The Empty Church R. s. THOMAS, 127 The God of Love GEORGE MACBETH, 127 Fantasy of an African Boy JAMES BERRY, 129 The Ballad of the Shrieking Man JAMES FENTON, 130 A Grin TED HUGHES, 134 Not Like That ADRIENNE RICH, 135 A Dream of Hanging PATRICIA BEER, 136 Defying Gravity ROGER MCGOUGH, 137 Dance of the Cherry Blossom JACKIE KAY, 138 Death & Co. SYLVIA PLATH, 139
[ix] Warm to the Cuddly-toy Charm of a Koala Bear GAVIN EWART, 140 Dream of a Slave GAVIN EWART, 141 Song PETER REDGROVE, 142 Hitcher SIMON ARMITAGE, 143 Species CHARLES BOYLE, 144 Dreaming in the Shanghai Restaurant D. j. ENRIGHT, 145 A Consumer's Report PETER PORTER, 146 When a Beautiful Woman Gets on the Jutiapa Bus BELLE WARING, 147 Being a Wife SELIMA HILL, 148 Against Coupling FLEUR ADCOCK, 149 The Ecstasy of St Saviour's Avenue NEIL ROLLINSON, 150 The Sheep Child JAMES DICKEY, 151 The Geranium THEODORE ROETHKE, 153 Grimalkin THOMAS LYNCH, 154 Before You Cut Loose, SIMON ARMITAGE, 156 The Strange Case MICHAEL ONDAATJE, 157 Country Fair CHARLES SIMIC, 158 Dancing in Vacationland STEPHEN DOBYNS, 159 1668 DOM MORAES, l6o Austerities CHARLES SIMIC, 161 Nigger Sweat EDWARD BAUGH, 162 The Emigrant Irish EAVAN BOLAND, 164 The Woman on the Dump ELIZABETH SPIRES, 164 The Man Who Invented Pain CRAIG RAINE, 166 'now is a ship' E.E. CUMMINGS, 169 The Italians Are Excited FREDA DOWNIE, 169 The Railway Station ARUN KOLATKAR, 170 Sleeping Compartment NORMAN MACCAIG, 173 The Taxis LOUIS MACNEICE, 174 A Sign Illuminated ROY FISHER, 174 Death of a Farmyard GEOFFREY GRIGSON, 176 The Explosion PHILIP LARKIN, 176 Timer TONY HARRISON, 177 The Scissors Ceremony MICHAEL LONGLEY, 178
[x] The Plain Sense of Things WALLACE STEVENS, 179 Where Are the Waters of Childhood? MARK STRAND, 179 My Mother's Lips c. K. WILLIAMS, 181 Calvin Klein's Obsession CIARAN CARSON, 183 A Private Bottling DON PATERSON, 187 Another Woman IMTIAZ DHARKER, 190 Adultery CAROL ANN DUFFY, 192 This Dead Relationship KATHERINE PIERPOINT, 193 Routine Day Sonnet A. K. RAMANUJAN, 195 Raymond of the Rooftops PAUL DURCAN, 196 From a Conversation During Divorce CAROL RUMENS, 197 Onions WILLIAM MATTHEWS, 198 Oatmeal GALWAY KINNELL, 199 When I Grow Up HUGO WILLIAMS, 202 Rat Jelly MICHAEL ONDAATJE, 203 Out West BILL MANHIRE, 204 As It Should Be DEREK MAHON, 204 Script Conference JOHN HARTLEY WILLIAMS, 205 Aisle of Dogs CHASE TWICHELL, 207 On the Venom Farm RUTH PADEL, 208 The Sting TOM PAULIN, 210 Raptor R. s. THOMAS, 212 From the Childhood of Jesus ROBERT PINSKY, 213 You Will Know When You Get There ALLEN CURNOW, 215 Caliban's Books MICHAEL DONAGHY, 216 The Draft Horse ROBERT FROST, 217 Why Brownlee Left PAUL MULDOON, 217 Street EILEAN NI CHUILLEANAIN, 218 The Other TED HUGHES, 218 Not Waving but Drowning STEVIE SMITH, 219 Skunk Hour ROBERT LOWELL, 220 The Old Fools PHILIP LARKIN, 222 I Go Back to May 1937 SHARON OLDS, 223 You Hated Spain TED HUGHES, 224 An October Salmon TED HUGHES, 225 Notations of Ten Summer Minutes NORMAN MACCAIG, 228
[xi] Soap Suds LOUIS MACNEICE, 228 A Sofa in the Forties SEAMUS HEANEY, 229 Ancient Evenings MICHAEL HOFMANN, 231 My Second Marriage to My First Husband ALICE FULTON, 232 Lily Pond VICKI FEAVER, 233 Houdini MONIZA ALVI, 234 In Your Mind CAROL ANN DUFFY, 235 Love from a Foreign City LAVINIA GREENLAW, 236 The Letter ANDREW MOTION, 237 Looking Up SUJATA BHATT, 238 Knot SUSAN WICKS, 239 Small Female Skull CAROL ANN DUFFY, 240 Green Sees Things in Waves AUGUST KLEINZAHLER, 241 Two Hangovers JAMES WRIGHT, 242 Death of a Poet CHARLES CAUSLEY, 243 Memento Mori BILLY COLLINS, 244 Death of an Irishwoman MICHAEL HARTNETT, 245 Cups GWEN HARWOOD, 246 Hospital Evening GWEN HARWOOD, 246 The Hospital PATRICK KAVANAGH, 247 The Tune the Old Cow Died of NORMAN NICHOLSON, 248 What Work Is PHILIP LEVINE, 249 The Patriot NISSIM EZEKIEL, 251 The Second Voyage EILEAN NI CHUILLEANAIN, 252 The Sea E. A. MARKHAM, 254 The Birth PAUL MULDOON, 254 Balloons SYLVIA PLATH, 255 The King of the Cats Is Dead PETER PORTER, 256 The Broad Bean Sermon LES MURRAY, 257 Homecoming BRUCE DAWE, 259 Fifteen Million Plastic Bags ADRIAN MITCHELL, 260 Presidents MICHAEL HEFFERNAN, 261 Portraits of Tudor Statesmen u. A. FANTHORPE, 262 Not My Best Side u. A. FANTHORPE, 262 My Beloved Compares Herself to a Pint of Stout PAUL DURCAN, 264
[xii] Margin Prayer from an Ancient Psalter IAN DUHIG, 265 The Lion for Real ALLEN GINSBERG, 267 Underwear LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI, 269 Black Silk TESS GALLAGHER, 272 A True Account of Talking to the Sun at Fire Island FRANK O'HARA, 273 Prayer HUGO WILLIAMS, 275 A Priest in the Sabbath Dawn Addresses His Somnolent Mistress PETER DIDSBURY, 276 Stealing CAROL ANN DUFFY, 277 The Congress of the Insomniacs CHARLES SIMIC, 278 Mama Dot Learns to Fly FRED D'AGUIAR, 279 Seeing Off a Friend STEPHEN DOBYNS, 279 What the Doctor Said RAYMOND CARVER, 280 The Trees ADRIENNE RICH, 281 For and Against the Environment D. M. BLACK, 282 Not Being Oedipus JOHN HEATH-STUBBS, 285 Water PHILIP LARKIN, 286 Naked Vision GWEN HARWOOD, 287 Finale JUDITH WRIGHT, 287 The Big Words BRENDAN KENNELLY, 288 The Tough Guy of London KOJO GYINYE KYEI, 290 Depressed by a Book of Bad Poetry, I Walk Toward an Unused Pasture and Invite the Insects to Join Me JAMES WRIGHT, 290 The Beast in the Space w. s. GRAHAM, 291 What the Chairman Told Tom BASIL BUNTING, 292 Acknowledgements, 295 Index of Poets, 303
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