One of my favorite poems is Wallace Stevens’ “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.” Of the thirteen ways–and of course there are even more ways than that–but of the thirteen that Stevens chose to highlight, my very favorite is the thirteenth way:
XIII
It was evening all afternoon.
It was snowing
And it was going to snow.
The blackbird sat
In the cedar-limbs.
As is always the case, by early September I am looking forward to Alaska’s long winter. This year, I am going to do my best to become the blackbird. I hope to spend as much time out in the elements as possible.
Martha amore 