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 Contents | May 2003 Also by Mark Jarman: Canticle (2001) Psalm (1997) In the Tube (1999) More on poetry from The Atlantic Monthly. |
Coyotes
by Mark Jarman .....  Hear the author read this poem (in RealAudio)Is this world truly fallen? They say no. For there's the new moon, there's the Milky Way, There's the rattler with a wren's egg in its mouth, And there's the panting rabbit they will eat. They sing their wild hymn on the dark slope, Reading the stars like notes of hilarious music. Is this a fallen world? How could it be? And yet we're crying over the stars again, And over the uncertainty of death, Which we suspect will divide us all forever. I'm tired of those who broadcast their certainties, Constantly on their cell phones to their redeemer. Is this a fallen world? For them it is. But there's that starlit burst of animal laughter. The day has sent its fires scattering. The night has risen from its burning bed. Our tears are proof that love is meant for life And for the living. And this chorus of praise, Which the pet dogs of the neighborhood are answering Nostalgically, invites our answer, too. Is this a fallen world? How could it be?
Mark Jarman's most recent book is Body and Soul: Essays on Poetry (2002). He teaches at Vanderbilt University. Copyright © 2003 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved. The Atlantic Monthly; May 2003; Coyotes; Volume 291, No. 4; 86. |
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