#MIDDLEBURY
Songs to Joannes, V
Mina Loy
Midnight empties the street
Of all but us
Three
I am undecided which way back
To the left a boy
– One wing has been washed in the rain
The other will never be clean any more –
Pulling door-bells to remind
Those that are snug
To the right a haloed ascetic
Threading houses
Probes wounds for souls
– The poor can’t wash in hot water –
And I don’t know which turning to take
Since you got home to yourself – first
About this poem
“Songs to Joannes, V” was published in Vol. 3, No. 6 of Others in April 1917.
About Mina Loy
Mina Loy was born in London on Dec. 27, 1882. Her collections of poetry include “Lunar Baedeker” (Contact Editions, 1923) and “Lunar Baedeker & Time-Tables” (Jonathan Williams/Jargon Press, 1958). She died on Sept. 29, 1966.
The Academy of American Poets is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, whose aim is to make poetry available to a wider audience. Email The Academy at poem-a-day@poets.org.
This poem is in the public domain. Originally published in Poem-a-Day, www.poets.org. Distributed by King Features Syndicate.
