Collected Poems Quotes

“Everyone who made love the night before
Was walking around with flashing red lights
On top of their heads—a white-haired old gentleman,
A red-faced schoolboy, a pregnant woman
Who smiled at me from across the street
And gave a little secret shrug,
As if the flashing red light on her head
Was a small price to pay for what she knew.”
― Hugo Williams, Collected Poems

“Tides"

The evening advances, then withdraws again
Leaving our cups and books like islands on the floor.
We are drifting, you and I,
As far from another as the young heroes
Of these two novels we have just laid down.
For that is happiness: to wander alone
Surrounded by the same moon, whose tides remind us of ourselves,
Our distances, and what we leave behind.
The lamp left on, the curtains letting in the light.
These things were promises. No doubt we will come back to them.”
― Hugo Williams, Collected Poems