Poem of the week / The Red Poppy by Louise Glück

Poem of the week: The Red Poppy by Louise Glück

This poem by the Nobel laureate is a fierce short parable about environmental devastation

Carol Rumens
Mon 23 Aug 2021 10.07 BST

The Red Poppy

The great thing
is not having
a mind. Feelings:
oh, I have those; they
govern me. I have
a lord in heaven
called the sun, and open
for him, showing him
the fire of my own heart, fire
like his presence.
What could such glory be
if not a heart? Oh my brothers and sisters,
were you like me once, long ago,
before you were human? Did you
permit yourselves
to open once, who would never
open again? Because in truth
I am speaking now
the way you do. I speak
because I am shattered.

THE GUARDIAN