Reading W.S. Merwin “A Note
from the Cimmerians”
I look up
something rustling in the garden
I move quietly to the open window
frame a cosmos shivering
in the still morning air suddenly
a crow rises from the dirt
I open the shutter a small crucifix
of black feathered light
flies down my long lens
I press another button to see
if it’s there in the dark chamber
with yesterday’s dog chasing wild
turkeys into the evening fir trees
the first star settling in the sky
Note: “Cimmerian” a Western people believed to dwell
beneath the earth in perpetual darkness
Frank Rossini grew up in mid-century New York City & moved to his present residence, Eugene, Oregon in 1976. He has published poems in various literary magazines including Raven Chronicles, Chiron Review, Cascadia Review, & Seattle Review. sight | for | sight books published his latest book of poems, last confession, in March 2025. A review of his book can be found online at www.ravenchronicles.org.
