THE NEW SONG
For some time I thought there was time
and that there would always be time
for what I had a mind to do
and what I could imagine
going back to and finding it
as I had found it the first time
but by this time I do not know
what I thought when I thought back then
there is no time yet it grows less
there is the sound of rain at night
arriving unknown in the leaves
once without before or after
then I hear the thrush waking
at daybreak singing the new song
–W.S. Merwin, from The Moon Before Morning (Copper Canyon Press, 2014). Used by permission of the publishers. Through September 30th, 2019, add The Moon Before Morning to your bookshelf with a $100 gift for W.S. Merwin’s birthday.
Copyright © 2014 by W. S. Merwin.
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Featured photo by Aaron Michael used under Creative Commons license.
