Ralph Waldo Emerson
He who in his later years
attended Longfellow’s funeral
and muttered : « That gentleman
was a sweet beautiful soul
but I have entirely forgotten
his name »
He who at the age of thirty
had called on Coleridge
in Highgate and described him
as a short stout old man
with bright blue eyes
and a fine clear complexion
and noted his addiction to snuff
of which during the visit
he partook freely
presently soiling
his cravat
and his neat black suit
The poet is the sayer
the namer of things
without impediment
A poem by one who knows
and tells with thoughts
passionate and alive
so that its spirit
has an architecture
of its own
John Lyons