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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
TO THE CONSOLATIONS OF PHILOSOPHY, by WILLIAM STANLEY MERWIN Poem Explanation Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: Thank you but Alternate Author Name(s): Merwin, W. S. | |||
Thank you but not just at the moment I know you will say I have said that before I know you have been there all along somewhere in another time zone I studied once those beautiful instructions when I was young and far from here they seemed distant then they seem distant now from everything I remember I hope they stayed with you when the noose started to tighten and you could say no more and after wisdom and the days of iron the eyes started from your head I know the words must have been set down partly for yourself unjustly condemned after a good life I know the design of the world is beyond our comprehension thank you but grief is selfish and in the present when the stars do not seem to move I was not listening I know it is not sensible to expect fortune to grant her gifts forever I know Copyright 2001 by The Modern Poetry Association. This poem appears in the April 2001 issue of Poetry Magazine. http://poetrymagazine.org | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...PRELUDE TO A FAIRY TALE by EDITH SITWELL BEFORE THE RAIN by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH ON KEATS, WHO DESIRED THAT ON HIS TOMB SHOULD BE INSCRIBED: by PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY FELIX OPPORTUNITATE MORTIS by ALFRED AUSTIN A SESTINA, IN IMITAION OF SIG. FRA. PETRARCA by PHILIP AYRES THE DEATH OF YE LIFE OF LOVE by JOSEPH BEAUMONT |
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