Song, the Winds of Downhill
By George Oppen
‘out of poverty
to begin
again’ impoverished
of tone of pose that common
wealth
of parlance Who
so poor the words
would with and take on substantial
meaning handholds footholds
to dig in one’s heels sliding
hands and heels beyond the residential
lots the plots it is a poem
which may be sung
may well be sung
Copyright Credit: George Oppen, “Song, the Winds of Downhill” from New Collected Poems. Copyright © 1972 by George Oppen. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation.
Source: New Collected Poems (New Directions Publishing Corporation, 2008)