Poetry Magazine
The Heart's Archaeology
On some fundless expedition,
you discover it beneath
a pyracantha bush
carved from the hip bone
of a long-extinct herbivore
that walked the plains on legs
a story tall. An ocarina of bone
drilled and shaped laboriously
with tools too soft to be efficient
by one primitive musician
spending night after night
squatting by the fire.
No instrument of percussion:
place this against your lips,
fill it from your lungs to sound
a note winding double helix, solo
and thready calling to the pack.
Source: Poetry (February 2000).
MORE FROM THIS ISSUE
This poem originally appeared in the February 2000 issue of Poetry magazine
View this poem in its original format
Poem Categorization
SUBJECT Music, Arts & Sciences, Mythology & Folklore
POET’S REGION U.S., Southern
Poetic Terms Imagery, Free Verse
If you disagree with this poem's categorization, make a suggestion.
Your results will be limited to content that appeared in Poetry magazine.
