Skip to main content

Margaret Atwood's "Variations on the Word Sleep"

Margaret Atwood is quite famous these days as the author of The Handmaid's Tale. If you haven't read it, well, it's an enticing read to say the least. However, I personally am a bigger fan of Atwood's poetry. Variations on the Word Sleep is one of my favorites. I won't tell you what I think it means. Atwood's poetry can be fairly open to interpretation. Enjoy!




I would like to watch you sleeping,
which may not happen.
I would like to watch you,
sleeping. I would like to sleep
with you, to enter
your sleep as its smooth dark wave
slides over my head

and walk with you through that lucent
wavering forest of bluegreen leaves
with its watery sun & three moons
towards the cave where you must descend,
towards your worst fear

I would like to give you the silver
branch, the small white flower, the one
word that will protect you
from the grief at the center
of your dream, from the grief
at the center I would like to follow
you up the long stairway
again & become
the boat that would row you back
carefully, a flame
in two cupped hands
to where your body lies
beside me, and as you enter
it as easily as breathing in

I would like to be the air
that inhabits you for a moment
only. I would like to be that unnoticed
& that necessary.  
                       

This poem was published by Margaret Atwood in Selected Poems II: 1976-1986.

Popular posts from this blog

Artist Profile - Andy Goldsworthy

Are you an avid hiker, naturalist or just like to sit out on in the fresh air? Or do you simply enjoy beautiful sights? Of course, beauty can be found just about anywhere. Because I am lucky to live in a wooded community I am treated to a daily concert of sights and sounds and no day is the same. The Artist Andy Goldsworthy Source: Kidzworld.com As someone who has always enjoyed nature and art I was thrilled to discover the art of Andy Goldsworthy. Although I've known his work since the mid-nineties he never ceases to enchant me. If you don't know who he is, prepare to be amazed. Goldsworthy is a man who enjoys the colors and textures of nature and presents them in a way you likely have never seen before. And, you don't have to be a nature-lover to appreciate his art. Rowan Leaves & Hole Source: Morning-Earth.org Goldsworthy is considered a pre-eminent "Earthworks" artist. This trend in art-making was popularized in the 1980s and 9...

Delicious Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

The school year is a good month in if you live in Cobb County, GA. Can you believe it? August has passed so quickly. This also means a month of making lunches and snacks for the kiddos. Store bought items are OK but after awhile they end up tasting the same. For me, they taste like either sugar or salt and maybe a little something else. When I have the time I prefer to do homemade snacks. Something that tastes like real food because it is - real flavor, real texture, really yummy. Muffins are my go-to homemade snack and can often make a great breakfast, too. They bake quickly and it's so easy to include healthy ingredients. I'm not the type to hide them. My son is not the best eater but I make sure he knows all the goodness that he does eat. The muffins will take you about 10 minutes to make and then 25 to bake. The ingredients are pantry staples. You may be able to make them today! Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins Makes 12 Muffins Ingredients 1 1/...

Crafty Garden Ideas

I am a so-so gardener. I love the results but often don't want to put in the work. So, I am always looking for easy garden projects that will give me a lot of visual impact. But, I don't want them to break the bank or take up the whole weekend. An afternoon now and again is fine and, quite honestly, it does feel really good to play in the dirt. Photo Source: Empress of Dirt Crafty In Cobb is on Pinterest and I've made a board of Garden Ideas that could be really enjoyable to do. Hope you like!