But when the sun shines on the earth,
In reality
It does not shine on a thing that remains
What it was yesterday.
The sun rises
On whatever the earth happens to be.
And there are indeterminate moments
Before it rises ..
Before one can tell
What the bottle is going to be -
Porcelain, Venetian glass,
Egyptian .
Well, there are moments
When the candle, sputtering up,
Finds itself in seclusion,
And shines, perhaps, for the beauty of shining.
That is the seclusion of sunrise
Before it shines on any house.
Wallace Stevens
Collected Poetry and Prose
Frank Kermode and
Joan Richardson, editors
Three Travelers Watch a Sunrise
A Play
1916
The Library of America, 1997©
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