Listening
The noise of passing feet
On the prairie —
Is it men or gods
Who come out of the silence?
Alice Corbin Henderson
Most common moods
Poems
La Muerte de la Vieja
There were four old women as old as she
Who knelt in the room where the sick one lay,
And the resador with his book of prayers
Who sat by her side all night to pray.
In the morning light her face was grey
As the ash that covered the embers still,
The black-shawled women had never stirred
And the old man's voice was hoarse and shrill.
The crucifix laid on her heaving breast
Moved with her harsh breath up and down,
And her mouth like a chicken's gaped for air
With a noise that the droning could not drown.
The sunlight poured through the open door
Where I stood and wondered how it could be
That the old, old woman with such great strength
Fought with the force we could not see.
Biography
American poet, editor, and critic born in 1881 and died in 1949. She served as assistant editor of Poetry magazine and was a key figure in the Chicago literary renaissance. Corbin Henderson's poetry often explores the landscapes and cultures of the American Southwest, incorporating Native American imagery and themes. Her notable collections include 'The Spinning Woman of the Sky' and 'Red Earth.' She also edited anthologies and promoted modernist poetry, contributing to the development of American verse in the early twentieth century.
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