Breathing the Water

"Breathing the Water" is Denise Levertov's 19th book of poetry published originally in 1984.

Table of contents

I
*Variation on a Theme by Rilke ("The Book of Hours", Book I, Poem 1, Stanza 1)
*Hunting the Phoenix
*August Daybreak
*A Blessing
*The Spirits Appeased

II SPINOFFS, ONE
*A Doorkey for Cordova
*Athanor
*Window-Blind
*The Spy
*Embrasure

III
*Zeroing In
*The Absentee
*Captive Flower
*The Mockingbird of Mockingbirds
*In Memory: After a Friend's Sudden Death
*Missing Beatrice
*To Olga
*Ceremonies
*Every Day
*To One Steeped in Bitterness

IV
*The Stricken Children
*During a Son's Dangerous Illness
*Carapace
*Urgent Whisper
*From the Image-Flow--South Africa 1986
*Making Peace
*From the Image-Flow--Summer 1986

V SPINOFFS, TWO
*'She wept, and the women consoled her'
*'The day longs for the evening.'
*'The last heavy fairytale....'
*'The sea's repeated gesture.'
*'The myriad past....'
*'The Holy One, blessed be he, wanders again....'
*'I learned that her name was Proverb.'

VI
*In Praise of Allium
*Poet Power
*The Well
*Girls
*From the Image-Flow--Death of Chausson, 1899
*Wavering

VII
*Caedmon
*The Servant-Girl at Emmaus (A Painting by Velazquez
*Standoff
*On a Theme from Julian's Chapter XX
*Candlemas
*Variation on a Theme by Rilke ("The Book of Hours", Book I, Poem 4)
*La Cordelle
*The Showings, 1-6
*Variation and Reflection on a Theme by Rilke ("The Book of Hours", Book I, Poem 7)