Thirteen Sonnets from "Ithaca" [by David Lehman]

from the Autumn 2022 issue of The Hudson Review:

Happy as Ulysses is he who ventures forth,
who leaves behind his idols and his homeland
and mourns the loss of his mariners
who were shamed like hogs under a witch’s spell
or swallowed whole by a one-eyed colossus, and still
he opposes the wind with his beard of sea salt
after one more failure, clinging to a spar.
And the poor cottage of an October oracle,
with leaves burning in the distance of a miracle,
absent the flames and amber lights eternal,
is as dear to him as the hospital bed he left
on the appointed day, walking the whole way,
quickening his stride as if he were sprinting
like a sandaled youth past the lotus-tempted sailors.

For the other twelve sonnets published in the fall 2022 issue of The Hudson Review, please click here.

Comments

[Mark C. Minton]

Thank you, beautiful. A lot of living presented as a dozen and one gifts to others so they too can glimpse for a few moments a greater appreciation of life than usually within their ken...

[Terence Winch]

Brilliant work. These poems have a feeling of effortlessness that characterizes the best, most accomplished work. You are definitely living in the right place.