Sigrid Sittig - 3 Short Poems (1924-26)
Forgotten Poems #60
—: Autumn :— Gone mad! The tree tops sway in vain desire toward the earth; The air is streaked with flying red of leaves. Across the sky Soft-bosomed clouds race to their tryst with doom; The demon wind Laughs, knowing that this last spurt of life is but the dance of death.
—: After Storm :— Spring rain Like tears of atonement For a wanton mood. The wind-broken lily Forgives.
—: Spring :— Sunlight like myriad shining white gulls skimming the water— Beloved, my longing for you hurts Like the repeated pecking of sharp-billed birds at my heart. Radiant blue sky, all but singing with color— Beloved, have you guessed at the mystery of my eyes after kisses? Trembling spring-green of trees— Beloved, do you know the shyness that clothes like a silver mist The glowing passion of a woman? Miracle of flowering blossoms— Beloved, can you guess at the despair Of one who trembles forever at the verge of Spring Never to flower?
Sigrid Sittig lived in Homewood, Chicago, and worked as a 'Director of Training' for Carson, Prie, Scott, & Company. Sittig was also a member of the Women's Club of the Chicago Ethical Society, which published numerous verse anthologies that she appeared in. Sittig went on to publish a handful of poems in the mid-1920s, alongside a few magazine articles and book reviews.
In the 1940s and 1950s Sittig spoke at community literary events in Chicago, such as the Flossmoor Book Club (in 1949) and the Wood Bookshelf (in 1951), and in 1952 published a collection of poetry, Remember My Love: Poems, which won the 'Grace Thayer Bradley Award for Poetry'.
For Sigrid Sittig By Dick Whyte listen to the sea like it knows you're listening— and the sky, having realised it doesn't exist will hold us
Forgotten Poets Presents:
Forgotten Poems, a living anthology of obscure and out-of-print poetry from the late-1800s and early-1900s. Explore the archives:
Sonia Ruthele Novak - Strawberries (1927)
—: Strawberries :— My kisses Are drowsy, honey-colored bees. My thoughts of you Are sweetgrass baskets Lined with dewy leaves. Your words Are wild strawberries To my insatiate ears...
Yorozu Tsurumi - 4 Tanka (1926)
—: Autumn :— The hills dressed in autumn fire Burn crimson. A curved leaf flutters— Falling...
Elsa Von Freytag-Loringhoven - Novemberday (1924)
Novemberday— Gold cold— Dust blue— On poplars— Green metal Death show— Last Leaves...
Hart Crane - My Grandmother's Love Letters (1926)
—: My Grandmother’s Love Letters :— There are no stars to-night But those of memory. Yet how much room for memory there is In the loose girdle of soft rain...
I always prefer your 'for' poem to the others. Thanks for sharing.
Love your tribute to Sittig. Dick!