Hymn to Time by Ursula K. Le Guin
Hymn to Time
Ursula K. Le GuinTime says “Let there be”
every moment and instantly
there is space and the radiance
of each bright galaxy.And eyes beholding radiance.
And the gnats’ flickering dance.
And the seas’ expanse.
And death, and chance.Time makes room
for going and coming home
and in time’s womb
begins all ending.Time is being and being
time, it is all one thing,
the shining, the seeing,
the dark abounding.
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This poem appeared in Late in the Day by Ursula K. Le Guin, published by PM Press, 2018. (Available direct from PM Press • Also on: Amazon • Bookshop)
DESCRIPTION
““There is no writer with an imagination as forceful and delicate as Ursula K. Le Guin’s.” —Grace Paley
Late in the Day, Ursula K. Le Guin’s new collection of poems (2010–2014) seeks meaning in an ever-connected world. In part evocative of Neruda’s Odes to Common Things and Mary Oliver’s poetic guides to the natural world, Le Guin’s latest give voice to objects that may not speak a human language but communicate with us nevertheless through and about the seasonal rhythms of the earth, the minute and the vast, the ordinary and the mythological. As Le Guin herself states, “science explicates, poetry implicates.” Accordingly, this immersive, tender collection implicates us (in the best sense) in a subjectivity of everyday objects and occurrences. Deceptively simple in form, the poems stand as an invitation both to dive deep and to step outside of ourselves and our common narratives. The poems are bookended with two short essays, “Deep in Admiration” and “Some Thoughts on Form, Free Form, Free Verse.”” (Source)
ABOUT URSULA K. LE GUIN
American writer Ursula K. Le Guin was the author of over 20 novels, a dozen books of poetry, over 100 short stories, and several books of essays. Born in Berkeley, California, she earned a BA from Radcliffe College, an MA in Romance Literature from Columbia University, and then studied in Paris on a Fulbright fellowship. Her fiction gravitated toward the genre of science fiction, with many of her most famous books and stories examining our own world though stories combining fantasy
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ENDNOTES
- Explore other works in pursuit of: existence • time • cosmos • Or browse the index
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