A Poem For A Birthday

Saturday, September 30, 2017

Dew Light
W.S. Merwin

Now in the blessed days of more and less
when the news about time is that each day
there is less of it I know none of that
as I walk through the early garden
only the day and I are here with no
before or after and the dew looks up
without a number or a present age

I don't know how to articulate how much I love Merwin's work (I guess the fact that we named the dog after him is a demonstration given how ridiculously loved the dog is). It is some of the first poetry I deeply admired, studied, and savored. Today is Merwin's 90th birthday and this poem has a beautiful simplicity that is amplified by that context of his aging. And perhaps even the age old "living in the moment" lens. Happy birthday, Merwin. I hope, from the little paradise of palms you have created in Hawaii, you know how much your work has helped your readers to understand the world, to feel, and to know beauty in words. 

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