2 Little & Lovely Lyric Poems by Kenneth Rexroth

As I grow older, poet Kenneth Rexroth is a constant companion. His sweet, simple lyricism reminds me of Wordsworth. Here is two of his last poems, "I Dream of Leslie" and "Void Only," from the early 1970s.

I DREAM OF LESLIE

You entered ny sleep,
Come with your immense,
Luminous eyes,
And light brown hair,
Across fifty years,
To sing for me again that song
Of Campion's we loved so once.
I kissed your quivering throat.
There was no hint in the dream
That you were long, long since
A new arrived guest,
With blithe Helen, white Iope and the rest--
Only the peace
Of late afternoon
In a compassionate autumn
In youth.
And I forgot
That I was old and you a shade.

* * * *

VOID ONLY

Time like glass
Space like glass
I sit quiet
Anywhere Anything
Happens
Quiet loud still turbulent
The serpent coils
On itself
All things are translucent
Then transparent
Then gone
Only emptiness
No limits
Only the infinitely faint
Song
Of the coiling mind
Only.

--from: The Complete Poems of Kenneth Rexroth, Copper Canyon Press, 2003, pages 694 and 701