(like everyone else on earth!)
I struggled against
this eventuality, but
never thought of
how I’d die, exactly,
until around thirty
I made a mental list:
hit by car, shot
in head by random ricochet,
crushed beneath boulder,
victim of gas explosion,
head banged hard
in fall from ladder,
vaporized in plane crash,
dwindling away with cancer,
and so on. I tried to think
of which I’d take
if given the choice,
and came up time
and time again with He died
in his sleep.
Now that I’m officially old,
though deep inside not
old officially or otherwise,
I’m oddly almost cheered
by the thought
that I might find out
in the not too distant future.
Now for lunch.
Ron Padgett
DAYS
Each one is a gift, no doubt,
mysteriously placed in your waking hand
or set upon your forehead
moments before you open your eyes.
Today begins cold and bright,
the ground heavy with snow
and the thick masonry of ice,
the sun glinting off the turrets of clouds.
Through the calm eye of the window
everything is in its place
but so precariously
this day might be resting somehow
on the one before it,
all the days of the past stacked high
like the impossible tower of dishes
entertainers used to build on stage.
No wonder you find yourself
perched on the top of a tall ladder
hoping to add one more.
Just another Wednesday,
you whisper,
then holding your breath,
place this cup on yesterday’s saucer
without the slightest clink.
Billy Collins
ADVICE
Folks, I’m telling you,
birthing is hard
and dying is mean—
so get yourself
a little loving
in between.
Langston Hughes
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The editors wish to thank the following people for help and encouragement in bringing this book to fruition:
Gina Maccoby, Michael Pietsch, Megan Tingley, Frederick Courtright, Karen Landry, Jean Garnett, and members of the editorial staff of Little, Brown, whose attention to detail delighted our hearts.
Members of the Third Friday Poetry Reading Group, past and present, and in memory of Mary Coan, Phyllis Herman, Kay Langan, Jane Milliken, and Gail Wilson.
John Hopley and George, Gretchen, and John Hopley. Denny, Perry, Chuck, and Meg Hoberman, and in memory of Norman Hoberman.
And all of our families, friends, and colleagues whose enthusiasm for our project has carried us forward from that first germ of an idea to the volume you hold in your hands.
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PERMISSIONS
Poems not credited here are in the public domain.
Marjorie Agosín, “Mi Estomago” (“My Belly”), translated by Cola Franzen, from Women and Aging: An Anthology by Women, edited by Jo Alexander. Copyright © 1986 by Marjorie Agosín. Used by permission of the author; Elizabeth Alexander, “Alice at One Hundred and Two” from Women and Aging: An Anthology by Women, edited by Jo Alexander. Copyright © 1986 by Elizabeth Alexander. Used by permission of the author; A. R. Ammons, “In View of the Fact” from Bosh and Flapdoodle. Copyright © 2005 by A. R. Ammons. “Gravelly Run” and “The City Limits” from The Selected Poems, Expanded Edition. Copyright © 1987, 1977, 1975, 1974, 1972, 1971, 1970, 1966, 1965, 1964, 1955 by A. R. Ammons. All used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.; John Ashbery, “Fear of Death” from Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror. Copyright © 1990 by John Ashbery. Used by permission of Viking Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC and Carcanet Press, Ltd. All rights reserved; W. H. Auden, “Posthumous Letter to Gilbert White” and “After Reading a Child’s Guide to Modern Physics” from Collected Poems. Copyright © 1976 by the Estate of W. H. Auden. Used by permission of Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC and Curtis Brown, Ltd. All rights reserved; Wendell Berry, “They,” “The Burial of the Old,” “Why,” “Except,” and “The Peace of Wild Things” from New Collected Poems. Copyright © 2012 by Wendell Berry. Reprinted by permission of Counterpoint; Elizabeth Bishop, “One Art” and “Sonnet” (“Caught—the bubble”) from The Complete Poems 1926–1979. Copyright © 1979 by Elizabeth Bishop. Reprinted by permission of Penguin Random House UK and Farrar, Straus & Giroux LLC; Philip Booth, “Species” from Relations: New and Selected Poems. Copyright © 1986 by Philip Booth. Used by permission of Viking Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved; Jorge Luis Borges, “Ars Poetica” from Dreamtigers, translated by Mildred Boyer and Harold Morland. Copyright © 1964 by Jorge Luis Borges. Reprinted with the permission of the Wylie Agency LLC and the University of Texas Press; Raymond Carver, “The Window” from All of Us: The Collected Poems. Copyright © 1996 by Tess Gallagher. Used by permission of Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC, Penguin Random House UK, and the Wylie Agency LLC. All rights reserved; Lucille Clifton, “oh antic God” from Collected Poems. Copyright © 1987, 2004 by Lucille Clifton. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of BOA Editions, Ltd., boaeditions.org; Billy Collins, “Consolation” and “Days” from The Art of Drowning. Copyright © 1995 by Billy Collins. “Forgetfulness” from Questions About Angels. Copyright © 1991 by Billy Collins. Reprinted by permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press. “Today” from Nine Horses. Originally published in Poetry (April 2000). Copyright © 2002 by Billy Collins. Used by permission of Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC and Penguin Random House UK. All rights reserved; E. E. Cummings, “love is a place” from Complete Poems, 1904–1962, edited by George James Firmage. Copyright 1935, © 1963, 1991 by the Trustees for the E. E. Cummings Trust. Copyright © 1978 by George James Firmage. Used by permission of Liveright Publishing Corporation; Carol Ann Duffy, “Mrs Rip Van Winkle” from The World’s Wife. Copyright © 2001 by Carol Ann Duffy. Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux LLC and Penguin Random House UK; Alan Dugan, “Note: The Sea Grinds Things Up” from Poems Seven: New and Complete Poetry. Copyright © 2001 by Alan Dugan. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of Seven Stories Press, sevenstories.com; Richard Eberhart, “Youth and Age” from The Long Reach: New and Uncollected Poems 1948–1984. Copyright 1948, 1953, © 1956, 1964, 1967, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 by Richard Eberhart. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.; Gavin Ewart, “The Last Things” from The Gavin Ewart Show. Copyright © 1971 by Gavin Ewart. Used by permission of the Estate of Gavin Ewart; Elaine Feinstein, “Getting Older” from Collected Poems and Translations. Copyright © 2002 by Elaine Feinstein. “Long Life” from Cities. Copyright © 2010 by Elaine Feinstein. Both used by permission of Carcanet Press, Ltd.; Robert Frost, “Carpe Diem” and “Provide, Provide” from The Poetry of Robert Frost, edited by Edward Connery Lathem. Copyright 1937, 1938 by Robert Frost. Reprinted by permission of Henry Holt and Company LLC; Louise Glück, “The Night Migrations” from Averno. Copyright © 2006 by Louise Glück. “Lament” from Poems 1962–2012. Copyright © 2012 by Louise Glück. Both reprinted by permission of Farrar, Str
aus & Giroux LLC and Carcanet Press, Ltd. “Vespers” [“In your extended absence, you permit me”] from The Wild Iris. Copyright © 1992 by Louise Glück. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers and Carcanet Press, Ltd; Albert Goldbarth, “The Way” from To Be Read in 500 Years. Originally published in The New Yorker (October 6, 2008). Copyright © 2008 by Albert Goldbarth. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of Graywolf Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota, graywolfpress.org; Debora Greger, “To an Eastern Bluebird” from The New Yorker (April 2, 2012). Copyright © 2012 by Debora Greger. Reprinted with the permission of the author; Han Yu, “Poem on Losing One’s Teeth” [“Losing My Teeth”], translated by Kenneth O. Hanson, from Sunflower Splendor: Three Thousand Years of Chinese Poetry, edited by Wu-chi Liu and Irving Yucheng Lo. Copyright © 1975 by Wu-chi Liu and Irving Yucheng Lo. Reprinted with permission of Indiana University Press; Jeffrey Harrison, “Enough” from Into Daylight. Copyright © 2014 by Jeffrey Harrison. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC, on behalf of Tupelo Press, tupelopress.org; Jim Harrison, “Bridge” from Dead Man’s Float. Copyright © 2016 by Jim Harrison. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC., on behalf of Copper Canyon Press, coppercanyonpress.org; Seamus Heaney, “Clearances: III” from Selected Poems 1966–1987. Copyright © 1987 by Seamus Heaney. Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux LLC and Faber and Faber, Ltd.; Zbigniew Herbert, “Pebble,” translated by Czeslaw Milosz and Peter Dale Scott, from The Collected Poems: 1956–1998. Copyright © 2007 by the Estate of Zbigniew Herbert. Translation copyright © 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers LLC. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers and Atlantic Books; Jane Hirshfield, “The Decision” from Come, Thief. Originally published in Poetry (May 2008). Copyright © 2013 by Jane Hirshfield. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, and the author. All rights reserved; Tony Hoagland, “Quiet.” Copyright © 2012 by Tony Hoagland. Reprinted with the permission of the Estate of Tony Hoagland; Mary Ann Hoberman, “Reconsideration,” “Mary No More,” and “Finally.” Reprinted with the permission of the author; John Hollander, “An Old-Fashioned Song” from Tesserae and Other Poems. Copyright © 1993 by John Hollander. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved; Langston Hughes, “As Befits a Man,” “Mother to Son,” and “Advice” from The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes. Copyright © 1994 by the Estate of Langston Hughes. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC and Harold Ober Associates. All rights reserved; Clive James, “Star System” from Sentenced to Life. Copyright © 2015 by Clive James. Reprinted with the permission of United Agents and Liveright Publishing Corporation. “Season to Season” from The New Yorker (January 15, 2018). Copyright © 2018 by Clive James. Reprinted with the permission of United Agents; Bill Knott, “There’s the Rub” from I Am Flying into Myself. Copyright © 2017 by Bill Knott. Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux LLC; Ted Kooser, “The Leaky Faucet” from Flying at Night. Copyright © 1985 by Ted Kooser. Reprinted by permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press. “That Was I” and “Father” from Delights and Shadows. Copyright © 2004 by Ted Kooser. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of Copper Canyon Press, coppercanyonpress.com; Stanley Kunitz, “The Round” from The Wild Braid. Copyright © 2005 by Stanley Kunitz. “I Dreamed That I Was Old” from The Poems of Stanley Kunitz, 1928–1978. Copyright 1930 by Stanley Kunitz. Both used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.; Philip Larkin, “Aubade” from Collected Poems. Copyright © 2001 by Philip Larkin. Reprinted by permission of the Noonday Press / Farrar, Straus & Giroux LLC and Faber and Faber, Ltd.; D. H. Lawrence, “Beautiful Old Age” and “A Living” from The Complete Poems of D. H. Lawrence. Copyright © 1964, 1971 by Angelo Ravagli and C. M. Weekley, Executors of the Estate of Frieda Lawrence Ravagli. Used by permission of Viking Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved; Li-Young Lee, “From Blossoms” from Rose. Copyright © 1993 by Li-Young Lee. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of BOA Editions, Ltd., boaeditions.org; Ursula K. Le Guin, “In the Borderlands” and “My Birthday Present” from Finding My Elegy: New and Selected Poems. Copyright © 2012 by Ursula K. Le Guin. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company and Curtis Brown, Ltd. All rights reserved; Eleanor Lerman, “Starfish” from Our Post-Soviet History Unfolds. Copyright © 2005 by Eleanor Lerman. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of Sarabande Books, Inc., sarabandebooks.org; Denise Levertov, “Joy” from Poems 1960–1967. Copyright © 1966 by Denise Levertov. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp. and Bloodaxe Books, Ltd. “Threat” from Sands of the Well. Copyright © 1996 by Denise Levertov. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.; Janet Lewis, “Out of a Dark Wood” from Selected Poems. Copyright © 2000 by Janet Lewis. Used by permission of Ohio University Press, ohioswallow.com; Diane Louie, “Sunset from the Window of a Rented Summer House.” Reprinted with the permission of Diane Louie; Thomas Lynch, “Refusing at Fifty-Two to Write Sonnets” from Walking Papers. Copyright © 2010 by Thomas Lynch. Used with permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., and Richard P. McDonough, Literary Agent; Archibald MacLeish, “With Age Wisdom” from Collected Poems: 1917–1982. Copyright © 1985 by Archibald MacLeish. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved; Bronislaw Maj, “A Leaf” from A Book of Luminous Things: An International Anthology of Poetry. English translation © 1996 by Czeslaw Milosz. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved; William Meredith, “The Cheer” and “Country Stars” from Efforts at Speech: New and Selected Poems. Copyright © 1997 by William Meredith. Used by permission of TriQuarterly Books; W. S. Merwin, “Dew Light” from The Moon Before Morning. Copyright © 2014 by W. S. Merwin. “For the Anniversary of My Death” from Migration: New and Selected Poems. Copyright © 1967, 2005 by W. S. Merwin. “One of the Butterflies” from The Shadow of Sirius. Copyright © 2008 by W. S. Merwin. All reprinted with the permission of the Wylie Agency LLC, Bloodaxe Books, Ltd., and The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of Copper Canyon Press, coppercanyonpress.org; Edna St. Vincent Millay, “Dirge Without Music” from Collected Poems. Copyright 1928, © 1955 by Edna St. Vincent Millay and Norma Millay Ellis. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of Holly Peppe, Literary Executor, the Edna St. Vincent Millay Society, millay.org; Czeslaw Milosz, “Late Ripeness” from Second Space. Copyright © 2004 by Czeslaw Milosz. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers and the Wylie Agency LLC; Marianne Moore, “What Are Years?” from Collected Poems. Copyright 1941 and renewed © 1969 by Marianne Moore. Reprinted with the permission of Scribner, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and the Literary Estate of Marianne Moore. All rights reserved; Hilda Morley, “I Begin to Love” from Cloudless at First. Copyright © 1988 by the Estate of Hilda Morley. Used by permission of Moyer Bell; Ogden Nash, “Old Is for Books” from You Can’t Get There from Here. Copyright 1954 by Ogden Nash, renewed. Reprinted by permission of the Carlton Publishing Group and Curtis Brown, Ltd.; Gunilla Norris, “Good.” Reprinted with the permission of the author; Alicia Ostriker, “The Blessing of the Old Woman, the Tulip, and the Dog” from The Book of Seventy. Copyright © 2009 by Alicia Ostriker. Reprinted by permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press; Ron Padgett, “The Death Deal” and “Words from the Front” from Collected Poems. Copyright © 2007, 2011 by Ron Padgett. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of Coffee House Press, coffeehousepress.org; Grace Paley, “Hand-Me-Downs” and “Here” from Collected Poems of Grace Paley. Copyright © 2000 by G
race Paley. Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux LLC and Union Literary; Linda Pastan, “The Cossacks” from The Last Uncle. Copyright © 2002 by Linda Pastan. “A Glass of Cold Water” from Queen of a Rainy Country. Copyright © 2006 by Linda Pastan. Both used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., and the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, Inc.; Molly Peacock, “A Face, a Cup” from The Analyst. Copyright © 2017 by Molly Peacock. Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., Biblioasis Press, and the Trident Media Group; Hyam Plutzik, “Cancer and Nova” from The Collected Poems. Copyright © 1987 by Hyam Plutzik. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of BOA Editions, Ltd., boa editions.org; Marie Ponsot, “Orphaned Old” from Collected Poems. Copyright © 2016 by Marie Ponsot. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved; Kathian Poulton, “Untitled” from Women and Aging: An Anthology by Women, edited by Jo Alexander. Copyright © 1986 by Kathian Poulton. Used by permission of Calyx Books; Kathleen Raine, “Winter Paradise” from Collected Poems. Copyright © 1988 by Kathleen Raine. Reprinted by permission of Counterpoint; Margaret Randall, “Immigration Law” from Time’s Language: Selected Poems (1959–2018) (Wings Press, 2018). Copyright © 1986 by Margaret Randall. Reprinted with the permission of the author; Adrienne Rich, “Final Notations” from An Atlas of the Difficult World: Poems 1988–1991. Copyright © 1991 by Adrienne Rich. Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.; Theodore Roethke, “Slow Season” from The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke. Copyright © 1974 by Theodore Roethke. Used by permission of Doubleday, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved; Muriel Rukeyser, excerpt from “Käthe Kollwitz” [“Myth”] from The Collected Poems of Muriel Rukeyser (Pittsburgh: the University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005). Copyright © 1973 by Muriel Rukeyser. Reprinted with the permission of International Creative Management, Inc.; Jalal al-Din Rumi, “Little by Little” [“Wean Yourself”], translated by Coleman Barks, from A Book of Luminous Things: An International Anthology of Poetry, edited by Czeslaw Milosz (Mariner Books, 1988). Reprinted with the permission of the translator; Kay Ryan, “Least Action” and “Things Shouldn’t Be So Hard” from The Niagara River. Copyright © 2005 by Kay Ryan. “Ticket” and “Why We Must Struggle” from Say Uncle. Copyright © 2000 by Kay Ryan. All used by permission of Grove Atlantic, Inc. Any third-party use of this material, outside of this publication, is prohibited; W. D. Snodgrass, “Lasting” from Not for Specialists: New and Selected Poems. Copyright © 2006 by W. D. Snodgrass. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of BOA Editions, Ltd., boaeditions.org; William Stafford, “Any Morning,” “Fall Wind,” “You Reading This, Be Ready,” and “The Way It Is” from Ask Me: 100 Essential Poems. Copyright © 1998, 2014 by the Estate of William Stafford. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of Kim Stafford and Graywolf Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota, graywolfpress.org; Joyce Sutphen, “Living in the Body” from Straight Out of View. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of Holy Cow! Press, holycowpress.org; May Swenson, “Question” from Nature: Poems Old and New. Copyright © 1994 by May Swenson. Reprinted with the permission of the Literary Estate of May Swenson; Wislawa Szymborska, “A Contribution to Statistics” from Map: Collected and Last Poems. Copyright © 2015 by Wislawa Szymborska. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. “The End and the Beginning” and “Parting with a View” from Miracle Fair: Selected Poems of Wislawa Szymborska. Copyright © 2001 by Wislawa Szymborska. Both used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.; Dylan Thomas, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” from The Poems of Dylan Thomas. Copyright 1945 by the Trustees for the Copyrights of Dylan Thomas. Copyright © 2017 by the Dylan Thomas Estate. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp. and Harold Ober Associates; Tomas Tranströmer, “Allegro,” translated by Robert Bly, from The Winged Energy of Delight: Selected Translations (New York: HarperCollins, 2005). Copyright © 2005 by Robert Bly. Reprinted with the permission of the translator; Kurt Vonnegut, “Requiem” from A Man Without a Country. Copyright © 2010 by Kurt Vonnegut. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of Seven Stories Press, sevenstories.com; Derek Walcott, “Untitled #51” from White Egrets. Copyright © 2010 by Derek Walcott. “Love After Love” from Collected Poems, 1948–1984. Copyright © 1986 by Derek Walcott. Both reprinted by permission of Faber and Faber, Ltd., and Farrar, Straus & Giroux LLC; Alice Walker, “Good Night, Willie Lee, I’ll See You in the Morning” from Her Blue Body Everything We Know: Earthling Poems 1965–1990 Complete. Copyright © 2004 by Alice Walker. Used by permission of Mariner Books, an imprint of the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved; John Hall Wheelock, “To You, Perhaps Yet Unborn” and “Intimations of Mortality” from This Blessed Earth: New and Selected Poems, 1927–1977. Copyright © 1978 by the Estate of John Hall Wheelock. Reprinted with the permission of Scribner, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved; Richard Wilbur, “A Measuring Worm” from Anterooms: New Poems and Translations. Originally published in The New Yorker (February 11, 2008). “A Finished Man” from New and Collected Poems. Originally published in The New Yorker (March 4, 1985). Copyright © 1985, 2008, 2010 by Richard Wilbur. Used by permission of Mariner Books, an imprint of the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved; C. K. Williams, “Glass” from Repair. Copyright © 1999 by C. K. Williams. Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux LLC; William Carlos Williams, “To a Poor Old Woman” from Collected Poems of William Carlos Williams, Volume 1: 1909–1939, edited by Christopher MacGowan. Copyright 1938 by New Directions Publishing Corp. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.
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