W.S. Merwin

W.S. Merwin (1927-2019) Born in New York City, William Stanley Merwin was the son of a Presbyterian minister, for whom he began writing hymns at the age of five. Appointed United States Poet Laureate by the Library of Congress in 2010, William Stanley Merwin had a career that spanned seven decades. A poet, translator, gardener and environmental activist, Merwin has become one of the most widely read and honored poets in America. He died at home, in Maui, at the age of 91, in the house he built, among the thousands of palms he planted, in March of 2019.

Time in the Grass

In a few fields the first hay is lying

naked in its new fragrance as its color fades

and no one has stayed to see the noon light

dappling the small growth in the shade of the trees

beside the meadows that are still untouched

where the spring grasses go on rippling

in the shimmering daylight of their lives

and the voles clad in velvet shadows

trickle through their feet under the whispers

of the tall world while the clear notes

of crickets on all sides call keep calling

to the world to stay just as it is

they go on calling even when the grass has gone

— WS Merwin