Two in One
From "First loves: poets introduce the essential poems that captivated and inspired them" (2000-2001),
Margaret Atwood, Canadian writer:
There you have it: first love. Though come to think of it, love was not what I experienced. It usually isn't, with poetry. ... The poem is anonymous...to date at least to the seventeens century, but none of this was known to me at the age of four or five"
I saw a peacock with a fiery tail,
I saw a blazing comet drop down hail,
I saw a cloud with ivy circled round,
I saw a sturdy oak creep on the ground,
I saw a pismire swallow up a whale,
I saw a raging sea brim full of ale,
I saw a Venice glass sixteen foot deep,
I saw a well full of men's tears that weep,
I saw their eyes all in a flame of fire,
I saw a house as big as the moon and higher,
I saw the sun even in the midst of night,
I saw the man that saw this wondrous sight.
"I can remember that opened up the possibilities of poetry for me - what it could do, how it could mean several things at once, how the familiar and the strange depended upon each other."
I saw a peacock , with a fiery tail
I saw a blazing comet , drop down hail
I saw a cloud , with ivy circled round
I saw a sturdy oak , creep on the ground
I saw a pismire , swallow up a whale
I saw a raging sea , brim full of ale
I saw a Venice glass , sixteen foot deep
I saw a well , full of men's tears that weep
I saw their eyes , all in a flame of fire
I saw a house , as big as the moon and higher
I saw the sun , even in the midst of night
I saw the man , that saw this wondrous sight.