Considerations on the death of Remco Campert, Dutch poet and writer
Published
Topic
Sadness
Wonderful to live in a country where
when one of its great poets dies
the national papers proclaim the news
on the front pages, and devote
an entire supplement to their writings.
Oh, unacknowledged shapers of our laws
Please: help us to remember :
so that we can still see
sunlight showering down upon railway lines,
red roses fingering up white-plastered walls,
wide open waters shuddering in light winds —
and before you close the final door on darkness
please help us understand what you are always
trying to tell, teach us :
how to live
how to die
(Wendie Shaffer, day after USA Independence Day