Love his poetry. Spare and gut-felt.
Years ago a friend gifted me a broadside he had done on John’s work. I framed it; it now hangs on my office wall.
Poem of the Forgotten
I came to this place,
a young man green and lonely.
Well quit of the world,
I framed a house of moss and timber,
called it a home,
and sat in the warm evenings
singing to myself as a man sings
when he knows there is no one to hear.
I made my bed under the shadow
of leaves, and awoke
in the first snow of autumn,
filled with silence.
– John Haines
Rod, I’ve not read Haines before. I think I’ll go looking for some of his work. If most of his poetry is as “spare and gut-felt” as “Poem of the Forgotten,” I’m fairly certain I’ll enjoy what I may find.
John,
I can recommend The Stars, the Snow the Fire.
Thanks, Rod. That’s the one I’ll hunt up. First at my local booksellers, and if no luck there, via your link.