Patricia’s Poetry Pick No. 5
A Blessing
By James Wright
Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota,
Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.
And the eyes of those two Indian ponies
Darken with kindness.
They have come gladly out of the willows
To welcome my friend and me.
We step over the barbed wire into the pasture
Where they have been grazing all day, alone.
They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness
That we have come.
They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other.
There is no loneliness like theirs.
At home once more,
They begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness.
I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms,
For she has walked over to me
And nuzzled my left hand.
She is black and white,
Her mane falls wild on her forehead,
And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear
That is delicate as the skin over a girl’s wrist.
Suddenly I realize
That if I stepped out of my body I would break
Into blossom.
I discovered this gorgeous poem a few months ago when someone dear asked me to read them a poem “about ponies.” Not recalling one off the top of my head, I searched the term in Google. James Wright’s A Blessing was the first to pop up, which is normally a red flag when it comes to poetry, as you usually have to dig a bit deeper to discover anything truly worthwhile. Amazingly, its immediacy was no indication of its significance, and it has remained in my thoughts since. I grew up around horses, respecting the strength of their bodies and the tenderness deep in their eyes. I have yet to find a collection of words that better captures what it feels like to approach and commune with a horse. Wright captures stillness, reverence, and sensuality in this poem; it is golden hour in free verse. It captures the impulse to step out of a busy and often brutal reality, still oneself, and observe beauty and spirit.
Suddenly I realize
That if I stepped out of my body I would break
Into blossom.
The last few lines perfectly express of one of my all time favourite themes: banal existence unexpectedly taken over by beauty. The sentiment is enhanced and intensified by Wright’s use of alliterative B’s (bolded above). I may be alliteration’s biggest fan; I honestly never get tired of it. Alliteration instantly causes me to focus my attention on how sound affects meaning and vice versa. It causes me to appreciate the mouth feel of words in sequence that I might otherwise gloss over. Is it weird to say mouth feel? What’s a better way to say that? This simple device encourages me to slow down, pay attention, and I’m grateful for anything that has that ability in my otherwise (needlessly) frantic life. A blessing indeed!
A Blessing was first published in 1961 and is a reflection on a real life experience Wright had while travelling through the country with his dear friend Robert Bly (featured in last week’s PPP). A Blessing has become one of Wright’s most celebrated poems and can be found in many anthologies including his book The Branch Will Not Break.
Fellow poets and dear friends—James Wright (left) and Robert Bly (right). I love imagining these two great American poets having this experience together in their early 30s. What I would give to hear a snippet of their real life conversations!
