TWO POETS: A Poem by Neeli Cherkovski

TWO POETS

Lombardo and Bava

two Italian poets today sent poems, one

from Venice, and one from

Rome, Anna and Alessandra, and now

I have taken the poems

and began to think of the shadows

and crevices, the deep gorges and

simple lights, I mean I started thinking

inside of the poems, as if I had

been reborn in them by the simple act

of reading

Anna, earnest, finding truth

in things, tracking words

down to the skull of a timeless memory –

what poetry means to do

to pull me into the sea lead me

up the mountain place me

in my own place shake branches

of our tree late afternoon

Alessandra, vivid, a poem for Henry Miller

and one on Baudelaire, a poem

deep in  the maudit’s heart – she swims

in mysteries of exquisite creation

as word alone gathers strength

by the ashen grove and speeds along

across dunes and flat plains

poems at my fingertips

from these two, and when I look again

it’s the wisdom

of not knowing everything, the peace

of not being absolutely sure

of all things, the gratitude

for their taking the time to share

                                                amici

Neeli was so nice as to send me this poem he wrote, today. He truly made my day. To touch a poet of his caliber makes me very happy.