As Though I Was Waiting For That by W.S. Merwin
As Though I Was Waiting For That
W.S. MerwinSome day it will rain
from a cold place
and the sticks and stones will darken their faces
the salt will wash from the worn gods
of the good
and mourners will be waiting
on the far sides of the hillsand I will remember the calling
recognized at the wrong hours
long since
and hands a long way back
that will have forgotten
and a direction will have abandoned my feet
their way
that offered
itself vainly day after day
at last gone
like a color or the cloth at elbowsI will stir when it is getting dark
and stand when it is too late
as though I was waiting for that
and start out into the weather
into emptiness
passing the backs of trees
of the rain of the mourners
the backs of names the back
of darknessfor no reason
hearing no voice
with no promise
praying to myself
be clear
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SHARED WITH GRATITUDE
This poem appeared in The Carrier of Ladders by W.S. Merwin, published by Atheneum, 1970.
ABOUT W.S. MERWIN
William Stanley (W.S.) Merwin was born in New York City in 1927 and raised in New Jersey and Scranton, Pennsylvania, the son of a Presbyterian minister. His numerous collections of poetry, his translations, and his books of prose have won praise over seven decades. He won nearly every award available to an American poet, and he was named U.S. poet laureate twice. His first collection of poetry, A Mask for Janus (1952), was chosen for the Yale Younger Poets Prize. Merwin is also an… (more)
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