by W.S. Merwin

Every year without knowing it I have passed the day
When the last fires will wave to me
And the silence will set out
Tireless traveler
Like the beam of a lightless star

Then I will no longer
Find myself in life as in a strange garment
Surprised at the earth
And the love of one woman
And the shamelessness of men
As today writing after three days of rain
Hearing the wren sing and the falling cease
And bowing not knowing to what

W.S. Merwin is an inspired translator(he has written more than twenty books of translations),a peace activist,and an environmentalist—a champion of the Hawaiian rainforest near his home.His father was a Presbyterian minister,and his early poems were hymns.His early desire to be a poet arose from anguish at the state of the world,and he was encouraged in his efforts by the poet John Berryman.