Reading a beautiful examination of a poem by Wallace Stevens this week, I wanted to share it with you. A.O. Scott used to be a movie critic for the New York Times and then switched assignments to be a literature critic and often explores poetry. The staff at the paper create beautiful graphics to accompany his writing and Aliza Aufrichtig did a beautiful job with this poem. I hope this link works for you. If not, searching for the article should get you a working link, though it might be behind a paywall.
The palm at the end of the mind,
Beyond the last thought, rises
In the bronze decor,
A gold-feathered bird,
without human meaning,
Without human feeling, a foreign song.
You know then that it is not the reason
That makes us happy or unhappy.
The bird sings. Its feathers shine.
The palm stands on the edge of space.
The wind moves slowly in the branches.
The bird’s fire-fangled feathers dangle down.
Of Mere Being by Wallace Stevens, 1955. As A.O. Scott notes this poem was published after his death and may have been the last poem he wrote.
The images are from close to where I grew up in Florida all during visits to my mother. The last one was taken the morning after Mom died.