Saint Francis And The Sow
The bud
stands for all things,
even for those things that don't flower,
for everything flowers, from within, of self-blessing;
though sometimes it is necessary
to reteach a thing its loveliness,
to put a hand on its brow
of the flower
and retell it in words and in touch
it is lovely
until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing;
as Saint Francis
put his hand on the creased forehead
of the sow, and told her in words and in touch
blessings of earth on the sow, and the sow
began remembering all down her thick length,
from the earthen snout all the way
through the fodder and slops to the spiritual curl of the tail,
from the hard spininess spiked out from the spine
down through the great broken heart
to the blue milken dreaminess spurting and shuddering
from the fourteen teats into the fourteen mouths sucking and blowing beneath
them:
the long, perfect loveliness of sow.
© 1980 by Galway Kinnell
My note:
sow (n)
1.
1. An adult female hog.
2. The adult female of several other animals, such as the bear.
2.
1. A channel that conducts molten iron to the molds in a pig bed.
2. The mass of metal solidified in such a channel or mold.
fod·der (fŏd'ər)
n.
1. Feed for livestock, especially coarsely chopped hay or straw.
2. Raw material, as for artistic creation.
3. A consumable, often inferior item or resource that is in demand and usually abundant supply: romantic novels intended as fodder for the pulp fiction market.
slop (slŏp)
n.
1. Spilled or splashed liquid.
2. Soft mud or slush.
3. Unappetizing watery food or soup.
4. Waste food used to feed pigs or other animals; swill. Often used in the plural.
5. Mash remaining after alcohol distillation. Often used in the plural.
6. Human excrement. Often used in the plural.
7. Repulsively effusive writing or speech; drivel.
spurt (spûrt)
n.
1. A sudden forcible gush or jet.
2. A sudden short burst, as of energy, activity, or growth.
v., spurt·ed, spurt·ing, spurts.
v.intr.
1. To gush forth suddenly in a jet.
2. To make a brief intense effort or show a sudden increase in activity or speed.
v.tr.
To force out in a sudden jet.
shud·der (shŭd'ər)
intr.v., -dered, -der·ing, -ders.
1. To shiver convulsively, as from fear or revulsion. See synonyms at shake.
2. To vibrate; quiver: The airplane shuddered in the turbulence.
teat (tēt, tĭt)
n.
A nipple of the mammary gland; a mamilla.
earth·en (ûr'thən, -THən)
adj.
1. Made of earth or clay: an earthen fortification; an earthen pot.
2. Earthly; worldly.
The bud
stands for all things,
even for those things that don't flower,
for everything flowers, from within, of self-blessing;
though sometimes it is necessary
to reteach a thing its loveliness,
to put a hand on its brow
of the flower
and retell it in words and in touch
it is lovely
until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing;
as Saint Francis
put his hand on the creased forehead
of the sow, and told her in words and in touch
blessings of earth on the sow, and the sow
began remembering all down her thick length,
from the earthen snout all the way
through the fodder and slops to the spiritual curl of the tail,
from the hard spininess spiked out from the spine
down through the great broken heart
to the blue milken dreaminess spurting and shuddering
from the fourteen teats into the fourteen mouths sucking and blowing beneath
them:
the long, perfect loveliness of sow.
© 1980 by Galway Kinnell
My note:
sow (n)
1.
1. An adult female hog.
2. The adult female of several other animals, such as the bear.
2.
1. A channel that conducts molten iron to the molds in a pig bed.
2. The mass of metal solidified in such a channel or mold.
fod·der (fŏd'ər)
n.
1. Feed for livestock, especially coarsely chopped hay or straw.
2. Raw material, as for artistic creation.
3. A consumable, often inferior item or resource that is in demand and usually abundant supply: romantic novels intended as fodder for the pulp fiction market.
slop (slŏp)
n.
1. Spilled or splashed liquid.
2. Soft mud or slush.
3. Unappetizing watery food or soup.
4. Waste food used to feed pigs or other animals; swill. Often used in the plural.
5. Mash remaining after alcohol distillation. Often used in the plural.
6. Human excrement. Often used in the plural.
7. Repulsively effusive writing or speech; drivel.
spurt (spûrt)
n.
1. A sudden forcible gush or jet.
2. A sudden short burst, as of energy, activity, or growth.
v., spurt·ed, spurt·ing, spurts.
v.intr.
1. To gush forth suddenly in a jet.
2. To make a brief intense effort or show a sudden increase in activity or speed.
v.tr.
To force out in a sudden jet.
shud·der (shŭd'ər)
intr.v., -dered, -der·ing, -ders.
1. To shiver convulsively, as from fear or revulsion. See synonyms at shake.
2. To vibrate; quiver: The airplane shuddered in the turbulence.
teat (tēt, tĭt)
n.
A nipple of the mammary gland; a mamilla.
earth·en (ûr'thən, -THən)
adj.
1. Made of earth or clay: an earthen fortification; an earthen pot.
2. Earthly; worldly.
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