Luminous Details

Poet Ezra Pound apparently spent time on the lookout for what he called "luminous details." 

For him, these were "any small fact that casts light on larger realities". 

His poems are esoteric, strange, impenetrable even - but they often turn on the dizzying accumulation of many such particulars. 

These could be objects, words, persons, names, but they must have a certain quality that glows and pulsates with a life all their own.

 I find this to be a mesmerizing and joy-filled understanding of language and our world.


In other words, he could see enormous significance in the tiniest of details. 








Like yesterday, when I went out after the storm.

Cold lilac scents, damp sharp chill of fallen pine.

Bedraggled branches broken off for their unbelief. 

The sun fierce and sharp. 

Confetti petals in the street.

Puddle-mirrors back-illuminating the late afternoon.

Like it does in cities with canals, like Venice or Amsterdam. 

Pure light released on my eyes (almost) unmediated.