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Out of Hiding

Li-Young Lee, Li-Young Lee poetry, Secular or Eclectic, Secular or Eclectic poetry,  poetry, [TRADITION SUB2] poetry,  poetry by Li-Young Lee
(1957 - ) Timeline

Original Language
English

Secular or Eclectic
Contemporary

Someone said my name in the garden,

while I grew smaller
in the spreading shadow of the peonies,

grew larger by my absence to another,
grew older among the ants, ancient

under the opening heads of the flowers,
new to myself, and stranger.

When I heard my name again, it sounded far,
like the name of the child next door,
or a favorite cousin visiting for the summer,

while the quiet seemed my true name,
a near and inaudible singing
born of hidden ground.

Quiet to quiet, I called back.
And the birds declared my whereabouts all morning.

 

 

-- from Book of My Nights, by Li-Young Lee

Amazon.com

 


/ Photo by popofatticus /

Themes

  Birds
  Birth, Rebirth
  Dawn
  Garden
  Lotus


Recommended Books


Behind My Eyes: Poems, by Li-Young Lee
Book of My Nights, by Li-Young Lee
The City in Which I Love You, by Li-Young Lee
Rose, by Li-Young Lee

 

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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

It's been too long since we last had a poem by Li-Young Lee.

Someone said my name in the garden,

while I grew smaller
in the spreading shadow of the peonies,

grew larger by my absence to another,
grew older among the ants, ancient


A child's game of hide-and-seek becomes a moment of magical awareness, of silence, of self-discovery.

under the opening heads of the flowers,
new to myself, and stranger.


That game of secret places and stillness, becomes the opportunity mystics of the great traditions seek--

while the quiet seemed my true name,

--the opportunity to disappear and, at the same time, to become profoundly yourself.

The poems title "Out of Hiding" hints at one other truth: Through this kind of hiding, we actually come out of hiding. It is a form of disappearing that fundamentally reveals us to the world.

Quiet to quiet, I called back.
And the birds declared my whereabouts all morning.

 

 


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Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2011 by Ivan M. Granger.
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