A mouth. Can blow or breathe,
be a funnel, or Hello.
A grass blade or a cut.
A question seated. And a proud
bird's neck.
Shallow mitten for two-fingered hand.
Three-cornered hut
on one stilt. Sometimes built
so the roof gapes.
A policeman. Polite.
Wearing visored cap.
O unrolling,
tape of ambiguous length
on which is written the mystery
of everything curly.
A step,
detached from its stair.
The universe in diagram:
A cosmic hourglass.
(Note enigmatic shape,
absence of any value of origin,
how end overlaps beginning.)
Unknotted like a shoelace
and whipped back and forth,
can serve as a model of time.
Lorgnette for the right eye.
In England or if you are Alice
the stem is on the left.
A grass blade or a cut
companioned by a mouth.
Open? Open. Shut? Shut.
Cardinal Ideograms
May Swenson
(1)
Poem topics: sometimes, time, bird, model, question, roof, mystery, cosmic, shape, step, universe, absence, breathe, I love you, I miss you, grass, mouth, open, Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation
Previous Poem
That The Soul May Wax Plump Poem>>
About Cardinal Ideograms
Cardinal Ideograms is a poem by May Swenson. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
Write your comment about Cardinal Ideograms poem by May Swenson
Best Poems of May Swenson