The Intellect of a Woman

Intellect of a Woman


A favorite poem by Annie Finch


The Intellect of a Woman must not choose

perfection of the life, or the work

Perfection has a diamond for a muse

who scratches only where she needs to look.


And yet, the intellect of woman fears

for intellect's grandeur, in the sharp

delight that breaks her hearing through the ears,

the edge that cuts her vision through the dark.


So the intellect of the woman will not mind

the sight of where the diamond's edge has moved

Perfection's habit opens us to find

cuts in a window we have never loved.





Copyright:Annie Finch