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You are here: Home / Poems / “No Twilight”, by W.S. Merwin

“No Twilight”, by W.S. Merwin

April 3, 2017 By Merwin Conservancy

Seeds and Fruits by Larry Cameron
Seeds and Fruits on the Palm Forest Floor. Photo by Larry Cameron


NO TWILIGHT

How suddenly now it seems that the day
is over and on the island where I 
have lived these late happy years of my life
that Paula and I have been together
there is no twilight when the day is done
the day’s shadow is gone in the moment
it was here with all that went before
gone the same way into the one night
where time means nothing that is visible
when I look up after the light has gone
hearing a seed fall somewhere in the dark

— W.S. Merwin, from his book Garden Time  (Copper Canyon Press).  Copyright © 2016 by W. S. Merwin.  Used by permission of the publishers, www.coppercanyonpress.org.


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 preserve his home and palm forest for future generations, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to The Merwin Conservancy.

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808-579-8876
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