What horror to awake at night

Lorine Niedecker

What horror to awake at night

and in the dimness see the light.

Time is white

mosquitoes bite

I’ve spent my life on nothing.

The thought that stings. How are you, Nothing,

sitting around with Something’s wife.

Buzz and burn

is all I learn

I’ve spent my life on nothing.

I’m pillowed and padded, pale and puffing

lifting household stuffing —

carpets, dishes

benches, fishes

I’ve spent my life in nothing.

Lorine Niedecker

Born on Black Hawk Island near Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, Lorine Niedecker was influenced by the Imagist and Objectivist movements of the early 20th…

Grade levels

7-9 / Sec. 1-3

10-12 / Sec. 4 & 5 / CEGEP 1

Tags

Outside the Box

Moods

Common Poetic Terms and Forms

Contest Criteria

25 Lines or Fewer

Bibliographical info

Lorine Niedecker, “What horror to awake at night” from Lorine Niedecker: Collected Works. Copyright © 2002 by The Regents of the University of California. Reprinted by permission of University of California Press.

N. Scott Momaday

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If —

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