Living
The fire in leaf and grass
so green it seems
each summer the last summer.
The wind blowing, the leaves
shivering in the sun,
each day the last day.
A red salamander
so cold and so
easy to catch, dreamily
moves his delicate feet
and long tail. I hold
my hand open for him to go.
Each minute the last minute.
Notes
Levertov zeroes in on the delicate, icy touch of a red salamander moving across an open palm, using that fleeting moment to reveal how precious and fragile every single day really is. It grounds July’s theme of lightness in the gentle act of unclenching our hands and letting life pass through without trying to possess or hold on to it. By reminding us that each minute might be the last, the poem turns the quiet acceptance of impermanence into our sweetest, most liberating form of peace. #poetry #living #july #summer #nature