Temporarily in Oxford

By Anne Stevenson b. 1933 Anne Stevenson

Where they will bury me

I don't know.

Many places might not be

sorry to store me.

The Midwest has right of origin.

Already it has welcomed my mother

to its flat sheets.

The English fens that bore me

have been close curiously often.

It seems I can't get away from

dampness and learning.

If I stay where I am

I could sleep in this educated earth.

But if they are kind, they'll burn me

and send me to Vermont.

I'd be an education for the trees

and would relish, really,

flaring into maple each October—

my scarlet letter to you.

Your stormy north is possible.

You will be there, engrossed in its peat.

It would be handy not

to have to cross the whole Atlantic

each time I wanted to

lift up the turf and slip in beside you.

Source: Poems 1955-2005 (Bloodaxe Books, 2005)

Biography

Born in Cambridge, England, Anne Stevenson moved between the United States and the United Kingdom numerous times during the first half of her life. While she considers herself an American, Stevenson qualifies her status: “I belong to an America which no longer really exists.” Since 1962 she has lived mainly in the U.K., including Cambridge, Scotland, Oxford, and, most recently, North Wales and Durham.

Intersections and borders . . .

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