watching for life
eBook - ePub

watching for life

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

watching for life

About this book

we climb down the manhole / where history waits, and we can read / its layers or at least imagine them

From a balcony overlooking an urban back lane, a poet watches those walking below – their identities unknown and yet grasped through real and imagined evidence of foibles and personal inclinations, details of habit that reflect the strangers' inner selves, humanity in all its weaknesses, illnesses, and propensities.

In watching for life David Zieroth ponders questions about how to live and how to continue. The poems reach out in imagining the lives of others, and the poet himself is watched in turn. Zieroth conjures the history of his environment and the people who pass through it, reminding us of "the place we occupy / unfinished within ourselves" and our hunger to locate ourselves in the strangers we encounter.

Intimate and observant, watching for life features poetic reflections on men, women, children, crows and gulls, pigeons, rain and snow, patched pavement, delivery trucks, night, and time.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
At the moment all of our mobile-responsive ePub books are available to download via the app. Most of our PDFs are also available to download and we're working on making the final remaining ones downloadable now. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access watching for life by David Zieroth in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literatura & Poesía canadiense. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Copyright
  3. CONTENTS
  4. ON THE JOURNEY TOWARD MY DEAD PARENTS
  5. THE PATCHWORK PAVEMENT OF THE LANE
  6. I LOOK DOWN INTOMY BACK LANE
  7. ON THE DUAL NATUREOF THINGS, I WRITE
  8. THE YELLOW DOG HAS NO APPREHENSION
  9. THE SKINNY MAN WITH THE STIFF LEG
  10. SOME MEN ARE STRIDERS, AND HERE’S ONE
  11. WHEN YOU DIED IT TOOK MEMANY DAYS
  12. AND WHEN THE POEM FAILS
  13. THE CROW LANDS, INFUSED WITH PURPOSE
  14. HE ENTERS THE LANE LUNGING
  15. A COUPLE WALKS IN THE LANE
  16. I TAKE THESE OLD PHOTOS AND DUMP THEM
  17. INTO AIR SPACE ABOVETHE LANE
  18. SHE’S DOWN THEREEVERY DAY AT FOUR
  19. THE MAN IN THE LANETODAY, HAS HE
  20. I WISH TO ANNOUNCEFROM MY BALCONY
  21. I WEAVE AN EFFIGY OUT OF BLACK SOCKS
  22. I BESEECH ALL YOU BELOW, PLEASE
  23. IN WINTER THE LANEIS BLEAK, COLOURLESS
  24. AT NIGHT DARKNESSFILLS THE LANE
  25. I AWAKE IN THE MORNING TO FIND
  26. WHERE DO PIGEONS GO WHEN IT RAINS
  27. AT LAST I SEE THE MAN I’M WAITING FOR
  28. THOSE I HAVE SAID GOODBYE TO
  29. AS THIS MAN WALKS HE TILTS, FAVOURS
  30. I STEP OUT FOR AIRBUT IT IS NOT
  31. HOW EASILY I CHANGE
  32. AS THE RAIN FALLS, DISTANCE INCREASES
  33. AT END OF DAY A MOMENT
  34. I FEEL THE LAMENT IN ME GROWING
  35. READING ABOUT AN OLD MAN DYING
  36. YOU WOULD THINK WE’RE EXPERTS NOW
  37. SO MUCH TIMEIS SPENT WAITING
  38. I TAKE OFF MY GLASSES AND THE LANE BECOMES
  39. HOW MANY OF US REMAIN UNFINISHED
  40. IF ONLY I COULD TAKE PICTURES WITH MY EYES
  41. I WAS TIRED OF LIVING ALONE, SHE SAYS
  42. DOGGONE IT, IS THERE ANYONE DOWN THERE
  43. WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULTTO LIVE
  44. HOW I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A SHIP
  45. NO BORDERS RUN THE LENGTH OF THE LANE
  46. I’D LIKE TO CHECK OFF
  47. SOME DAYS I HEAR THOUGHTS
  48. I RECOGNIZE THOSE WHO HAVE WRITTEN
  49. I LOOK STRAIGHT OUT, NOT DOWN:
  50. BENT MAN BELOW, YOU MAY HAVE HEARD
  51. I WATCH THOSE WHO ARE STRONG
  52. ABOVE THE LANE THE CLOUDS BREAK APART
  53. A TALE OF TWO NEIGHBOURS BEGINS
  54. THE CROW FLIES IN, LANDS ON A POWER LINE
  55. HERE COMES A FACE MADE UGLY
  56. BEST ANSWER FOR HOW TO REVIEW YOUR MISTAKES
  57. A BODY FALLS OUT OF THE SKY, LEGS UP
  58. WHEN THE FACE OF SORROW APPEARS
  59. DEAR CITY FATHERS OR MOTHERS OR PLANNERS
  60. IF ONLY I COULD SEE THE DEAD WALKING HERE
  61. I WENT TO THE DOCTOR AND THE DOCTOR SAID
  62. THAT BLACK THING ON THE PAVEMENT
  63. ANYONE DOWN THERE WANNA COME UP
  64. IT COULD HAPPEN SOME NIGHT
  65. HE WHO HESITATES IS LOST IS NOT
  66. TODAY I HAVE DISCOVERED AGAIN HOW
  67. SUDDENLY THE HEART EASES, I DON’T KNOW WHY
  68. OF COURSE THE GODS HAVE FLED THE LANE
  69. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS