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James Harpur

‘I Stretch My Arms’

‘I Stretch My Arms’

‘I Stretch My Arms’

I stretch my arms like a swan flying
And watch, weightless, the world turning
So high up I can see – endlessly it seems
Rome and white mountains rising beyond,
Triremes at anchor in still Alexandria
Pearl-divers practising from rocks
The wind wandering through the wilderness.
The sun casts no shadow of the compass.
I am rooted to the spot, rotting inside
I had no choice but to choose this perch
And now I cannot choose any more
Each choice I made was like a nail
Fixing my arms to embrace the world.
James Harpur

James Harpur

(Verenigd Koninkrijk, 1956)

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‘I Stretch My Arms’

I stretch my arms like a swan flying
And watch, weightless, the world turning
So high up I can see – endlessly it seems
Rome and white mountains rising beyond,
Triremes at anchor in still Alexandria
Pearl-divers practising from rocks
The wind wandering through the wilderness.
The sun casts no shadow of the compass.
I am rooted to the spot, rotting inside
I had no choice but to choose this perch
And now I cannot choose any more
Each choice I made was like a nail
Fixing my arms to embrace the world.

‘I Stretch My Arms’

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