W. S. Merwin

Sight

Once

a single cell

found that it was full of light

and for the first time there was seeing

 

when

I was a bird

I could see where the stars had turned

and I set out on my journey

 

high

in the head of a mountain goat

I could see across a valley

under the shining trees something moving

 

deep

in the green sea

I saw the two sides of the water

and swam between them

 

I

look at you

in the first light of the morning

for as long as I can

W. S. Merwin

 W. S.   Merwin

W.S. Merwin has published over twenty books of poetry. His recent collections include Present Company (Copper Canyon, 2007); Migration: New & Selected Poems (2005) which won the 2005 National Book Award; The Pupil (2002); and The River Sound (1999). Among his many honors are two Pulitzer Prizes, awarded in 1971 and 2009. 


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