At the End of This Summer

John Haines

These previously unpublished poems represent a first book manuscript which sat on a shelf for more than forty years, despite recommendations and encouragement from poets like William Carlos Williams. Written just before Haines’s move to his Alaskan homestead, these visionary poems exhibit the clarity and intelligence which have marked him as one of the greatest living American poets.

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ISBN: 9781556590795

Format: Paperback

Departure

The road darkens toward the west,
toward the town,
the sky blown clear of all but the fringes
of lemon light;
still the air will shape to the sight
remembered forms.

The turning leaf falls on the ground
that felt the foot,
the waters murmur of the river
that turns away,
the flood of night harms no sound
of the birds that are going down
on the unseen horizon.

And darker, the final bearing
toward the wings
that weight in gathered cloth for one
who needs no eyes
to see the drifting heartbreak
of the smoky hills.

About the Author

John Haines was born in 1924 and homesteaded in Alaska for many years. He is the author of many volumes of poetry and essays, including The Owl in the Mask of the Dreamer. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Library of Congress.

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Reviews

“It behooves us to listen to a poet who deepens the silence around us and touches upon an ancient environmental wisdom.” —New York Times Book Review

“This collection of verse, written during what Haines calls an ‘early period of apprenticeship’ when he was living in New York City, reveals a roving, youthful, romantic heart.” —Publishers Weekly