Mine is a Wide Estate
Rent from DeepDyve- Mine is a Wide Estate
I am wealthy with earth and sky, Heir to far boundaries of field and stream, And scarce can keep track of so much property: Cloud herd, dew diamond, midge and bee, Wasp-way, wind’s wisdom, and the foxfire’s gleam I am rich despite a seeming poverty.
Mine is a wide estate. It is a legal jest These are a neighbor’s hills, those a stranger’s. Who owns the water’s speech, the hornet’s nest, The catbird’s mew, the grassy breath in mangers, And who in cricket song and may-fly nymphs invest? I am possessor and possessed. [End Page 192]
James Still (1906–2001) contributed his first poem to our magazine in 1973 and was the featured author of our Fall 2010 issue. A Hindman, Kentucky, resident, he was the author of three novels, including River of Earth (1940), three poetry collections, three short story collections, and three children’s books. Three books about his work are currently in print.
