Collected Poems 1948-1984 [antikvár]

Prelude I, with legs crossed along the daylight, watch The variegated fists of clouds that gather over The uncouth features of this, my prone island. Meanw^hile the steamers which divide horizons prove Us lost; Found only In tourist booklets, behind ardent binoculars; Found in the blue reflection of eyes That have known cities and think us here happy. Time creeps over the patient who are too long patient, So I, who have made one choice. Discover that my boyhood has gone over. And my life, too early of course for the profound cigarette, The turned doorhandle, the knife turning In the bowels of the hours, must not be made public Until I have learnt to suffer In accurate iambics. I go, of course, through all the isolated acts, Make a holiday of situations. Straighten my tie and fix important jaws.