Tribute to the Angels
H.D. (Hilda Doolittle)
TRIBUTE TO THE ANGELS
This is no rune nor symbol,
what I mean is — it is so simple
yet no trick of the pen or brush
could capture that impression;
what I wanted to indicate was
a new phase, a new distinction of colour;
I wanted to say, I did say
there was no sheen, no reflection,
no shadow; when I said white,
I did not mean sculptor’s or painter’s white,
nor porcelain; dim-white could
not suggest it, for when
is fresh-fallen snow (or snow
in the act of falling) dim?
yet even now, we stumble, we are lost —
what can we say?
she was not impalpable like a ghost,
she was not awe-inspiring like a Spirit,
she was not even over-whelming
like an Angel.
H.D. (Hilda Doolittle), Tribute to the Angels, Oxford University Press, London, 1945, in H.D., Trilogy, Oxford University Press, London, 1973 ; New Directions Paperbook, New York, 1998, page 106.
TRIBUTE TO THE ANGELS
This is no rune nor symbol,
what I mean is — it is so simple
yet no trick of the pen or brush
could capture that impression;
what I wanted to indicate was
a new phase, a new distinction of colour;
I wanted to say, I did say
there was no sheen, no reflection,
no shadow; when I said white,
I did not mean sculptor’s or painter’s white,
nor porcelain; dim-white could
not suggest it, for when
is fresh-fallen snow (or snow
in the act of falling) dim?
yet even now, we stumble, we are lost —
what can we say?
she was not impalpable like a ghost,
she was not awe-inspiring like a Spirit,
she was not even over-whelming
like an Angel.
H.D. (Hilda Doolittle), Tribute to the Angels, Oxford University Press, London, 1945, in H.D., Trilogy, Oxford University Press, London, 1973 ; New Directions Paperbook, New York, 1998, page 106.
