For myself, I'd pick M.Moore's The Steeple Jack, a poem from which you could, if necessary, re-constitute the universe, just add water. It is perfect in the sense that it says what needs to be said, with nothing extra.
If I maybe candid, I don't especially like the Merwin. The first few lines sound a bit sententious to me -- something to do with the alliteration and the anapestic rhythm. And there's something odd about the phrasing "and turn over slightly". But I like the part where he compares looking upward through the water to leaning back on a tree-swing. Sorry, I feel quite disgusted with how very little poetry I honestly like. I don't get most of it.
|