One of my favorite poets. Love this one:Departure's Girlfriend Loneliness leapt in the mirrors, but all week I kept them covered like cages. Then I thought Of a better thing. And though it was late night in the city There I was on my way To my boat, feeling good to be going, hugging This big wreath with the words like real Silver: Bon Voyage. The night Was mine but everyone's, like a birthday. Its fur touched my face in passing. I was going Down to my boat, my boat, To see if off, and glad at the thought. Some leaves of the wreath were holding my hands And the rest waved good-bye as I walked, as though They were still alive. And all went well till I came to the wharf, and no one. I say no one, but I mean There was this young man, maybe Out of the merchant marine, In some uniform, and I knew who he was; just the same When he said to me where do you think you're going, I was happy to tell him. But he said to me, it isn't your boat, You don't have one. I said, it's mine, I can prove it: Look at this wreath I'm carrying to it, Bon Voyage. He said, this is the stone wharf, lady, You don't own anything here. And as I Was turning away, the injustice of it Lit up the buildings, and there I was In the other and hated city Where I was born, where nothing is moored, where The lights crawl over the stone like flies, spelling now, Now, and the same fat chances roll Their many eyes; and I step once more Through a hoop of tears and walk on, holding this Buoy of flowers in front of my beauty, Wishing myself the good voyage. W.S. Merwin<http://www.coppercanyonpress.org/catalog/dsp_bookDetail.cfm?Book_ID=1238> On Tue, Oct 1, 2013 at 5:04 AM, <cblists@xxxxxxxx> wrote: > > On 1-Oct-13, at 2:22 AM, Robert Paul wrote: > > Merwin was born in New York, on September 30, 1927. Here's a poem. >> >> Worn Words >> ... >> > > Thanks, Robert. Merwin was previously unknown to me. More about, and by, > Merwin can be found at > > http://www.poetryfoundation.**org/bio/w-s-merwin<http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/w-s-merwin> > > On a more prosaic note, today is the 110th anniversary of the first patent > of a thermos bottle (Thermosflasche) by the German glass technician > Reinhold Burge. > > Chris Bruce, > glad on a gloriously golden October morning to > be able to take a couple of cups of tea along with > a book of poetry to the Old Botanical Garden, in > Kiel Germany > -- > > ------------------------------**------------------------------**------ > To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, > digest on/off), visit > www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.**html<http://www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html> >