Skip to content

Scottish Poetry Library

Register/Sign in
Shopping Bag Shopping Bag
Bringing people and poems together
  • Home
  • Poetry
    • Poems
    • Poets
    • Our National Poet
    • Best Scottish Poems
    • Poetry and Mindfulness
    • Podcasts
    • Posters
    • Publishers
  • Library
    • Become a borrower
    • Catalogue
    • Collections
    • Ask a librarian
    • Copyright enquiries
  • Learning
    • National Poetry Day 2019
    • National Poetry Day archive
    • SQA set texts
    • Learning resources
    • New to poetry?
    • Advice for poets
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Exhibitions
    • Venue hire
    • List an event
    • Fringe application
  • Shop
    • Books for Christmas
    • Pocket Poets
    • New Titles
    • SPL Favourites
    • Scottish Poetry
    • Help
  • About us
    • Our story
    • Our people
    • Our projects
    • Support us
    • Jobs
    • FAQs
  • Visit
    • Find us
    • Our building
  • Blog
Shopping BagShopping Bag
Ask a librarian
  • Home
  • >
  • Poetry
  • >
  • Thomas A. Clark
  • >
  • when the light shifts
Donate Donate icon Ask a Librarian Ask a Librarian icon

when the light shifts

Thomas A. Clark

when the light shifts
countless trembling
raindrops on birch twigs
fade to a clarity that seems
the temper of the day
until light returns
to the shining tree

when a breeze blows
through grasses or branches
light touches the harp
there are no witnesses
only musicians, dancers


Thomas A. Clark

from Yellow & Blue (Carcanet Press, 2014)

Reproduced by permission of the author.

Tags:

light
Share this
Facebook
Twitter
Email

Learn more

Thomas A. Clarkb.1944

The poetry of Thomas A. Clark has been consistently attentive to form and to the experience of walking in the landscape, returning again and again to the lonely terrain of the Highlands and Islands.  
More about Thomas A. Clark

Events

Discover poetry events at the Scottish Poetry Library and beyond.
Find forthcoming Events

Join

Become a Borrower or support our work by becoming a Friend of SPL.
Join us
  • Newsletter signup
  • Accessibility
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Scottish Poetry Library
5 Crichton's Close, Canongate
Edinburgh EH8 8DT
Tel: +44 (0)131 557 2876
© Scottish Poetry Library 2019.
The Scottish Poetry Library is a registered charity (No. SCO23311).
City of Edinburgh logo Green Arts Initiative logo Creative Scotland logo
By leaves we live