Strange Seizure<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
To trap the polar sun
\nfields of snow were set
\nas far as the eye could see.<\/p>\n
Snares of frost laid out
\nblocks of indigo ice dislodged
\nmillennia of pristine snow upturned
\nto arrange the end of the world.<\/p>\n
One dusk before it swung
\nbeneath the snow-bound brink
\nat the quick of the Arctic rim
\nthe sun was captured and cast
\ninto limpid glacial freeze.<\/p>\n
For a long spell its yellow heart
\nthrobbed in that gel
\nlike a magnificent moon
\nin a pitch-black sky
\nemitting eerie frigid rays
\nwhile frozen hordes implored
\nthe inhuman saffron orb
\nforthwith to quit the globe.<\/p>\n
After Anne H\u00e9bert\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n \u00c9trange capture<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Du c\u00f4t\u00e9 du p\u00f4le arctique On a tendu des filets de givre \u00c0 l\u2019heure du couchant Longtemps on a pu voir son coeur jaune<\/em> *<\/p>\n Anne H\u00e9bert<\/b>. <\/em>Strange Seizure was published in <\/em>Ellipse 50 (1993), pp. 36-37, where I noted, “However elemental and starkly beautiful it may be, political allegory is easily read into H\u00e9bert’s poem, though the poet herself has criticized this proclivity among Qu\u00e9bec critics. I did try to keep the Promethean oveetones of <\/em>\u00c9trange capture alive, but I know that some readers will insist that a people is not a horde.”<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Strange Seizure To trap the polar sun fields of snow were set as far as the eye could see. Snares of frost laid out blocks of indigo ice dislodged millennia of pristine snow upturned to arrange the end of the world. One dusk before it swung beneath the snow-bound brink at the quick of the … <\/p>\n
\nOn a remu\u00e9 le champ de neige
\n\u00c0 parte de vue, d\u00e9sirant prendre au pi\u00e8ge le soleil.<\/i><\/p>\n
\nRoul\u00e9 des blocs de glace indigo
\nBrass\u00e9 des mill\u00e9naires de neige vierge
\nTout un appareillage de fin du monde.<\/i><\/p>\n
\n<\/i>Avant qu’il ne bascule<\/em>
\nDerri\u00e8re l’horizon neigeux<\/em>
\nLe soleil fut appr\u00e9hend\u00e9<\/em>
\nAu plus vif du cercle polaire<\/em>
\nMis en cage dans un glacier transparent.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nBattre \u00e0 travers le gel<\/em>
\n\u00c9mettre d’\u00e9trange rayons froids<\/em>
\nComme une lune mal\u00e9fique<\/em>
\nDans la nuit noire<\/em>
\nTandis que tout un peuple transi<\/em>
\nSuppliait l’inhumaine boule safran<\/em>
\nDe quitter tout-le-champ la carte du monde.<\/em><\/p>\n