The Shadow of Sirius

The Shadow of Sirius
W.S. Merwin
Reviewed by Ray Zimmerman
Merwin completed this collection shortly before being named Poet Laureate of the United States. These hauntingly beautiful works reflect his lifelong concern for the natural world and use of stunning nature images. “The Curlew,” is a personal favorite of this reviewer:
When the moon has gone I fly on alone
into this night where I have never been....
The poems are evocative of the spirit Merwin manifested his earlier collection The Lice, and particularly the poem “For a Coming Extinction::”
Gray whale
Now that we are sending you to The End
That great god
Tell him
That we who follow you invented forgiveness
And forgive nothing
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