The Lookout by Robert Girvan

February 16, 2022
Poem name: The Lookout Poet name: Robert Girvan Poem begins: The woods were dark, but it was day. The brush grew dense toward the edge. You seemed well-enough to lead. That Lookout had to be close-by. We stopped and stood silently as high branches cracked in the cold. There, falling sharply between rocks, the path to the Lookout plunged. “We went down there when they were young,” you said lightly, while peering down. “It was easier then,” I said. You stared at the unknown blackness. Stricken, you spoke: “I can’t do it.” The sweep of blue was not for us. You rushed ahead, while I looked down. Leaves joined rock, like love with death. End of poem. Credits: Copyright © Robert Girvan Robert Girvan has published poetry, most recently in this Poetry Pause program, essays, such as “Searching Cézanne’s Provence” in the literary/arts journal The Goose, book reviews in The Literary Review of Canada and the Globe & Mail, and a non-fiction book, Who Speaks for the River? He has completed a lyrical/historical novel about Cézanne’s last days called The Sleep of the Earth which is a meditation on Cézanne’s life & art. He lives in Toronto and in central France.