'Not the best but the most known poem by James Wright,
a poet both me and Beth like' is a short video work I
made in honor of -as the title implies- not the best
but the most known poem by James Wright.
The poem, entitled 'Lying in a Hammock at William Duf-
fy’s Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota' is something of a
mistery to readers: the description of a bucolic scene
ends with the mysterious line 'I have wasted my life'.
And I wanted to translate that mistery into video -
in the end succumbing to the inclusion of text.
You can watch the video here:
and this is the original poem by James Wright:
Over my head, I see the bronze butterfly,
Asleep on the black trunk,
Blowing like a leaf in green shadow.
Down the ravine behind the empty house,
The cowbells follow one another
Into the distances of the afternoon.
To my right,
In a field of sunlight between two pines,
The droppings of last year’s horses
Blaze up into golden stones.
I lean back, as the evening darkens and comes on.
A chicken hawk floats over, looking for home.
I have wasted my life.