Poem-A-Day: Monody to the Sound of Zithers by Kay Boyle

March 9, 2014 Monody to the Sound of Zithers by Kay Boyle   I have wanted other things more than lovers ... I have desired peace, intimately to know The secret curves of deep-bosomed contentment, To learn by heart things beautiful and slow.   Cities at night, and cloudful skies, I've wanted;  And open cottage doors, old colors and smells a part; All dim things, layers of river-mist on river-- To capture Beauty's hands and lay them on my heart.   I have wanted clean rain to kiss my eyelids, Sea-spray and silver foam to kiss my mouth.  I have wanted strong winds to flay me with passion; And, to soothe me, tired winds from the south.   These things have I wanted more than lovers... Jewels in my hands, and dew on morning grass-- Familiar things, while lovers have been strangers.  Friended thus, I have let nothing pass.     Today's poem is in the public domain. About This Poem  Kay Boyle's first published poem, "Monody to the Sound of Zithers," originally appeared in Poetry: A Magazine of Verse in 1922.  Poetry by Boyle Collected Poems (Copper Canyon Press, 1991)     Poem-A-Day Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-A-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. Browse the Poem-A-Day Archive.     Kay Boyle was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1902. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Boyle received two Guggenheim Fellowships and was given a lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Boyle published nine collections of poetry before her death in 1992. Related Poems Elders by Louise Bogan The Clouded Morning by Jones Very If There Is Something to Desire, 9, 17, 18 by Vera Pavlova __________________________ Love reading Poem-A-Day? Help support it today.     Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.

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