Innisfree (eg. Greg McBride): Poems by David Lehman

Dutch Interior

He liked the late afternoon light as it dimmed
In the living room, and wouldn’t switch on
The electric lights until past eight o’clock.
His wife complained, called him cheerless, but
It wasn’t a case of melancholy; he just liked
The way things looked in air growing darker
So gradually and imperceptibly that it seemed
The very element in which we live. Every man
And woman deserves one true moment of greatness
And this was his, this Dutch interior, entered
And possessed, so tranquil and yet so busy
With details: the couple’s shed clothes scattered
On the backs of armchairs, the dog chasing a shoe,
The wide open window, the late afternoon light.

Click here for this special issue of Innisfree, edited by Greg McBride, with a portfolio of poems by David Lehman.

paintings by David Lehman. copyright (c) 2024 by David Lehman

Comments

[Terence Winch]

Congratulations on being featured as the Innisfree Poetry Journal's "Closer Look" poet. A great mini-selected poems. I think Greg McBride does a wonderful job with that journal.

[Terence Winch]

Oh, and excellent artwork!

[David Lehman]

Thank you, Terence. And thank you, too, for directing me to Greg McBride.