Elise Matthesen

Lion and Angel Dividing the Maple Between Them

Easy to see

that the lion and angel

are one visitation,

but how do you come

to offer your throat to either?

In autumn, the trees

learn to drop off

both their disguises,

what finally fills them is simple.

The heart's deepest

affections will equally be devoured.

And still we go ankle deep

into that carnage, lifting first one,

then another part up to the light.

As if we were looking for something simple.

As if what we wanted

were not the thing that falls.

- Jane Hirshfield, The Lives of the Heart


I have loved this poem for a long time now. And I love Jane, who is my friend. Also this poem makes me remember another friend, Sharon Bishop, who loved the trees in winter best because then she could see their innermost shapes.