"Don't stop!" I told my father, but still I craned my head, and later I walked the canal path behind the garden of Stern's house, remembering the conversation we once had. Butterflies were out in force. The spill of gardens toward rain-soaked gulleys. The white horizontals of brief bridges.
Do you know Gerald Stern's work? For if you don't, you must. The opening lines of "He Said," from This Time, here:
Thank God for summer, he said, and thank God the window
was to his right and there was a wavy motion
behind him and a moon in the upper right corner
only four days old and still not either blowsy
or soupy.....
(find the poem, read on)
4 Comments on Encounters with Gerald Stern, last added: 7/16/2010
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Thank you for the poetry excerpt. What a serendipitous sighting.
When we were in New Jersey last summer, we passed by all these signs pointing us to Lambertville, but never bothered to stop and check it out. It sounds lovely!
I read on. How lovely.
I had heard of him, and knew who he was, but had never read any of his work. Thank you for exposing me to his poetry...I will certainly have to look into reading more of his work!
Beautiful photograph and great story. I admit I don't know his poetry.