A.R. Ammons poem "Driving Through"

Driving Through

 

by A. R. Ammons

 

In the desert midnight I said

taking out my notebook I

    am astonished

though widely travelled having

seen Empire State and Palestine, Texas

and San Miguel de Allende

to mention extremes

and sharpened my pencil on the sole

    of my shoe

 

The mountains running skidded

over the icy mirages of the moon

and fell down tumbling

    laughing for breath

on the cool dunes

The stone mosaics of the flattest

places (parting lake-gifts) grouped

    in colors and

played games at imagery: a green

tiger with orange eyes, an Orpheus

with moving fingers

    Fontal the shrubs flooded

everything with cool

water

 

I sat down against a brimming smoketree

to watch and morning found the

desert reserved

trembling at its hot and rainless task

    Driving through

you would never suspect

the midnight rite or seeing my lonely house

guess it will someday hold

laurel and a friend

 

 

in Collected Poems: 1971-1971,

orig. in Corsons Inlet (Cornell U P, 1965)