Evening Sun
by Jane Kenyon

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Why does this light force me back
to my childhood? I wore a yellow
summer dress and the skirt
made a perfect circle.
Turning and turning
until it flared to the limit
was irresistible . . . . The grass and trees,
my outstretched arms, and the skirt
whirled in the ochre light
of an early June evening.
And I knew then
that I would have to live,
and go on living: what sorrow it was;
and still what sorrow ignites
but does not consume
my heart.

“Evening Sun" by Jane Kenyon. Copyright © 2007 from COLLECTED POEMS by Jane Kenyon. Used by permission of Graywolf Press.