Jane Hirshfield: "Meeting the Light Completely"

Even the long-beloved
was once
an unrecognized stranger.

Just so,
the chipped lip
of a blue-glazed cup,
blown field
of a yellow curtain,
might also,
flooding and falling,
ruin your heart.

A table painted with roses.
An empty clothesline.

Each time,
the found world surprises—
that is its nature.

And then
what is said by all lovers:
"What fools we were, not to have seen."



"Meeting the Light Completely" by Jane Hirshfield, from The October Palace. © Harper Perennial, 1994.

Photograph: Untitled, by Auntie P (originally color).