Adieu

The Echo of What Remains Collected Poems of Wanda Lea Brayton

Inspired by Pablo Neruda’s line, “The swan in the gathering darkness”,

from “Toward an Impure Poetry” in “Five Decades: Poem 1925-1970”, 

translated by Ben Belitt

In violet silence,

the swan gathers darkness within her wings

as she would her cygnets,

had she any to cull from currents mild.

The moon is full

and her feathers glisten, bright

beside an austere stream that has forgotten the sea.

Shadows beneath the water

reveal stones that once were mountains.

Delicate memories of those who passed before her

are silhouettes she might recall

under a deepening sky.

Caught within these murky swirls,

she is thoughtful in solitude.

The chill of winter edges near her sanctuary

as she accumulates graceful songs of stars

in violet silence,

beside an austere stream that has forgotten the sea.