The New York Times just published a poem about Robert Frost, but written by Dean Rader. I think it’s terrific, and dare to present it side-by-side with my own reworking of Frost (see next blog post).
Frost on Fire
A thing that melts can also burn: like a
Thicket of ice in the pond, the cold net
Of stars, even the hard white ax of the
Heart. A man can freeze without getting wet
Just as he can lose without being lost,
But winter finds everyone, even though
We spend our whole lives eluding it. Frost
Reminds us of what is to come — the snow,
The sky, the trees, the skin, the sleet, the sleep.
How often have I woken in fear, blind
In my unknowing? The woods are dark and deep,
Even in the day; still the mind will find
Its way into the light, into the
bright
Thaw of this life, where we, both flake and flame,
Fire and fall through. Let sun daze, let night
Show day how to blaze, let death drop its name.
– Dean Rader
If you enjoyed this poem as much as I do, you may want to get Dean Rader’s book, Self-Portrait as Wikipedia Entry, which contains this and other works.
