Before The Flood
July 6, 2023Nocturne: The Bedroom
July 6, 2023Any Time
How long ago the day is
when at last I look at it
with the time it has taken
to be there still in it
now in the transparent light
with the flight in the voices
the beginning in the leaves
everything I remember
and before it before me
present at the speed of light
in the distance that I am
who keep reaching out to it
seeing all the time faster
where it has never stirred from
before there is anything
the darkness thinking the light
W. S. Merwin
W.S. Merwin (1927-2019) was an American poet, translator, and environmental activist. Merwin's poetry often dealt with themes of nature, spirituality, and memory, and his most famous works include "The Carrier of Ladders" and "The Lice." He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1971 and 2009.