In the North by Adrienne Rich

How about another selection from Adrienne Rich?

In the North
By Adrienne Rich

Mulish, unregenerate,
   not “as all men are”
   but more than most

you sit up there in the sunset;
   there are only three
   hours of dark

in your night. You are
   alone as an old king
   with his white-gold beard

when in summer the ships
   sail out, the heroes
   singing, push off

for other lands. Only
   in winter when
   trapped in the ice

your kingdom flashes
   under the northern lights
   and the bees dream

in their hives, the young
   men like the bees
   hang near you

for lack of another,
   remembering too, with some
   remorseful tenderness

you are their king.

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