Such sad, sad,news. He was such a great poet, and, like Susan, I consider it a great honor to have met him at West Chester on the occasion of his 90th birthday. I also traveled to Newburyport to hear him read at the 2007 Literary Festival, and as he signed my copy of his Collected, being the gentleman he was, struck up a conversation with me about some Chandlers he knew down in Maryland. I treasure the letter and two postcards he sent me over the past decade, and am happy I was able to send him a final letter a few weeks ago reiterating my admiration for his work and for his generosity of spirit for having encouraged me way back in 2003.
Psalm
Give thanks for all things
On the plucked lute, and likewise
The harp of ten strings.
Have the lifted horn
Greatly blare, and pronounce it
Good to have been born.
Lend the breath of life
To the stops of the sweet flute
Or capering fife,
And tell the deep drum
To make, at the right juncture,
Pandemonium.
Then, in grave relief,
Praise too our sorrows on the
Cello of shared grief.
-- Richard Wilbur (Anterooms)
Last edited by Catherine Chandler; 10-15-2017 at 04:55 PM.
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