EXTRACTS FROM MIDDLE OF THE WAY BY GALWAY KENNELL

I wake in the night,

An old ache in the shoulder blades.

I lie amazed under the trees

That creak a little in the dark,

The giant trees of the world.

I lie on earth the way

Flames lie in the woodpile,

Or as an imprint, in sperm, of what is to be.

I love the earth, and always

In its darknesses I am a stranger....

The night very clear, very cold.

That half moon is up there

and a lot of stars

have come out among the treetops.

The fire has fallen to coals.

The coals go out

The last smoke weaves up

Losing itself in the stars.

This is my first night to lie

in the uncreating dark.

In the heart of a man

There sleeps a green worm

That has spun the heart about itself,

And that shall dream itself black wings

One day to break free into the beautiful black sky.

I leave my eyes open,

I lie here and forget our life,

All I see is we float out

Into the emptiness among the great stars,

On this little vessel without lights.

I know that I love the day,

The sun on the mountain, the Pacific

Shiny and accomplishing itself in breakers,

But I know I live half alive in the world,

I know half my life belongs to the wild darkness.

(C) Galway Kinnell

• Write about a winter’s night. What do you love about it? What thoughts and feelings does it inspire?

• Write an Alpha Poem on the words WILD DARKNESS. Each letter begins a new line of the poem. You can write one word on each line, or a phrase, whichever speaks to you.

• What are the things you love about the day? What are the things you love about the night?