Tuesday poem #106 : Jan Zwicky : Up at four a.m.

Not night, not morning: dead light,

the breath in you gone cold,

your third eye opening on everything

unloved. But your terror

shows you do not understand.

The housework of the universe

is done. Or not. An ember in the stovebox

faintly glows. Or not.

Jan Zwicky’s most recent collection is Forge, shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize. Alkibiades’ Love, a collection of essays, was published by McGill-Queens last fall. Other recent titles include Lyric Philosophy and Wisdom & Metaphor, now available in revised editions from Brush Education.

Photo credit: George Sipos

the Tuesday poem is curated by rob mclennan