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Cantus Firmus
| Article
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10666 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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| Issue
Date : |
1 / 1986 |
639 Words |
| Author
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Aleksis Rannit
Estonian born Aleksis Rannit was an exile from his homeland.
He was a free and freedom-loving man and believed in the right
of freedom for the whole of humanity. The poetry in this
section is from his book, Cantus Firmus, which was published
in a limited edition by The Elizabeth Press in 1977. Rannit is
widely known by Estonians for his concise lyric poems which
were often written in austere quantitative meters. In addition
to being a poet and calligrapher, he was both a literary
critic and art historian. Tiina Rannit, the poet's widow
graciously has given permission to reprint her husband's
works. |
View of the Atlas Mountains
Clouds as light as olive wreaths,
lighter than mist and air and wind,
and the silver edge of their leaves
flow smoother still than gentlest wine.
Atlas sleeps, the mammoth sleeps,
and in the grove the morning stirs
the supple dark, where pounding feet
have dashed the waking earth with fire.
There those mystic trees do more
than grace the desert with a scene.
Their branches listen with the truth
which bears the truth my mind will see
when love emerges as their light
grows deep, as now, O Montparnasse,
the mirrors of your streets grow dim.
My footfalls meet them, and never pass.
This air, as silent and as clean
as a copperplate untouched. This air
a storm descending from a desert sun.
A scent of color in the steaming rays.
Grace
The guise of shadow overgrows.
Lest radiance end in mold,
let rock be outward form,
the inward, springwater.
Springwater: the whispering idea,
the heart's easy grace.
The Birch
...
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