Vox Populi
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Bill Knott: Sonnet
(to Melisande Kopp)
.
The way the world is not
astonished at you
it doesn’t blink a leaf
when we step from the house
leads me to think
that beauty is natural, unremarkable
and not to be spoken of
except in the course of things
the course of singing and worksharing
the course of squeezes and neighbors
the course of you, tying back your raving hair to go out
and the course, of course, of me
astonished at you
the way the world is not.
From I am Flying into Myself: Selected Poems 1960-2014 (FSG, 2017), compiled by Thomas Lux. This poem is included in Vox Populi for educational purposes only.
Bill Knott (1940-2014) was an American surrealist poet who taught at Emerson College for more than 25 years. His work has been admired by many poets including James Wright who called Knott “an unmistakable genius.” An appreciation of Knott written by John Cotter, along with a generous selection of Knott’s poems can be found at this link.
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