The Certainties of Place and Time

It's the first day of April, which is National Poetry Month.  This year, it's also eight days until Holy Week.

Here's a poem from George Oppen's "Five Poems about Poetry"

THAT LAND

Sing like a bird at the open

Sky, but no bird

Is a man—

Like the grip

Of the Roman hand

On his shoulder, the certainties

Of place

And of time

Held him, I think

With the pain and the casual horror

Of the iron and may have left

No hope of doubt

Whereas we have won doubt

From the iron itself

And hope in death. So that

If a man lived forever he would outlive

Hope. I imagine open sky

Over Gethsemane,

Surely it was this sky.