This weeks’ featured poem is not a W.S. Merwin poem. Rather, it is a poem selected by W.S. Merwin and recited aloud to The Merwin Conservancy’s Board of Directors, who were visiting with William on his home lanai (porch) over the weekend.
“Sunlight on the Garden”
by Louis Macneice
The sunlight on the garden
Hardens and grows cold,
We cannot cage the minute
Within its nets of gold;
When all is told
We cannot beg for pardon.
Our freedom as free lances
Advances towards its end;
The earth compels, upon it
Sonnets and birds descend;
And soon, my friend,
We shall have no time for dances.
The sky was good for flying
Defying the church bells
And every evil iron
Siren and what it tells:
The earth compels,
We are dying, Egypt, dying
And not expecting pardon,
Hardened in heart anew,
But glad to have sat under
Thunder and rain with you,
And grateful too
For sunlight on the garden.
To browse through our archive of previously posted Poems of the Week, click here.
To support the preservation of W.S. Merwin’s legacy and our efforts to bring his ideas, works, and values into the community, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to The Merwin Conservancy.
