The American poet, Cid Corman (1924-2004), a translator and founder and editor of the literary magazine Origin, was a key figure in the history of American poetry in the second half of the 20th century. Corman lived for much of his adult life in Japan and maintained his friendship with Louis Zukofsky and Lorine Niedecker, among many others, through extensive correspondence.

A prolific writer, the influence of Japanese poetry is evident throughout his work. Introducing a volume of his poetry entitled Word for Each Other (1967), Corman wrote: “Something in them, in the sounded meanings joined here, should feed something in you that merits sharing—a little life that feels beyond itself, the dying implied in every word, in every thing, in every legend man has devised, in ache in ache in ache, invoking the only judgment man is worthy of: love.”

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The Kindness

the man dying
loved red roses
like those he grew

you looked for some
everywhere
in the city

and finally
brought him the best
carefully so

he shouldn’t know
you picked them
from his own garden

Cid Corman

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For an interesting profile of Cid Corman, see the following link http://jacket2.org/article/man-who-always-was

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