anterooms by richard wilbur
TRANSCRIPT
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 19
Richard WilburTwice Winner of the Pulitzer Prize
N E W P O E M S A N D T R A N S L A T I O N S
Anterooms
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 29
Anterooms
983144983151983157983143983144983156983151983150 983149 983145983142 983142 983148 983145983150 983144983137 983154983139983151983157983154983156
Boston New York 983090983088983089983088
Richard Wilbur
New Poems and Translations
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 39
Copyright copy 2010 by Richard Wilbur
all rights reserved
For information about permission to reproduce
selections from this book write to Permissions
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
215 Park Avenue South New York New York 10003
wwwhmhbookscom
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wilbur Richard dateAnterooms new poems and translations Richard Wilbur
p cm
isbn 978-0-547-35811-6
I Title
ps3545i32165a8 2010
811rsquo52 mdash dc22 2010005772
Book design by Melissa Lotfy
Printed in the United States of America
doc 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 49
Contents
The House 1
I
A Measuring Worm 5
Flying 7
Psalm 9
Young Orchard 11
Anterooms 13
Trismegistus 15
Terza Rima 17
Galveston 1961 19
A Pasture Poem 21
Ecclesiastes 111 23
Soon 25
II
Steacutephane Mallarmeacute The Tomb of Edgar Poe 29
Paul Verlaine An Unpublished Poem 31
Horace II 10 33
Joseph Brodsky Two Nativity Poems 35
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 59
III
Out Here 41
The Censor 43
A Reckoning 45
A Prelude 47
The Presidentrsquos Song to the Baron 49
Some Words Inside of Words 51
IV
Thirty-seven Riddles from Symphosius 55
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 69
1
The House
Sometimes on waking she would close her eyes
For a last look at that white house she knew
In sleep alone and held no title to
And had not entered yet for all her sighs
What did she tell me of that house of hers
White gatepost terrace fanlight of the door
A widowrsquos walk above the bouldered shore
Salt winds that ruffle the surrounding firs
Is she now there wherever there may be
Only a foolish man would hope to find
That haven fashioned by her dreaming mindNight after night my love I put to sea
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 79
5
A Measuring Worm
This yellow-striped green
Caterpillar climbing up
The steep window screen
Constantly (for lack
Of a full set of legs) keeps
Humping up his back
Itrsquos as if he sent
By a sort of semaphore
Dark omegas meant
To warn of Last ThingsAlthough he doesnrsquot know it
He will soon have wings
And I too donrsquot know
Toward what undreamt condition
Inch by inch I go
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 89
7
Flying
Treetops are not so high
Nor I so low
That I donrsquot instinctively know
How it would be to fly
Through gaps that the wind makes when
The leaves arouse
And there is a lifting of boughs
That settle and lift again
Whatever my kind may be
It is not absurd
To confuse myself with a birdFor the space of a reverie
My species never flew
But I somehow know
It is something that long ago
I almost adapted to
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 99
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 29
Anterooms
983144983151983157983143983144983156983151983150 983149 983145983142 983142 983148 983145983150 983144983137 983154983139983151983157983154983156
Boston New York 983090983088983089983088
Richard Wilbur
New Poems and Translations
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 39
Copyright copy 2010 by Richard Wilbur
all rights reserved
For information about permission to reproduce
selections from this book write to Permissions
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
215 Park Avenue South New York New York 10003
wwwhmhbookscom
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wilbur Richard dateAnterooms new poems and translations Richard Wilbur
p cm
isbn 978-0-547-35811-6
I Title
ps3545i32165a8 2010
811rsquo52 mdash dc22 2010005772
Book design by Melissa Lotfy
Printed in the United States of America
doc 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 49
Contents
The House 1
I
A Measuring Worm 5
Flying 7
Psalm 9
Young Orchard 11
Anterooms 13
Trismegistus 15
Terza Rima 17
Galveston 1961 19
A Pasture Poem 21
Ecclesiastes 111 23
Soon 25
II
Steacutephane Mallarmeacute The Tomb of Edgar Poe 29
Paul Verlaine An Unpublished Poem 31
Horace II 10 33
Joseph Brodsky Two Nativity Poems 35
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 59
III
Out Here 41
The Censor 43
A Reckoning 45
A Prelude 47
The Presidentrsquos Song to the Baron 49
Some Words Inside of Words 51
IV
Thirty-seven Riddles from Symphosius 55
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 69
1
The House
Sometimes on waking she would close her eyes
For a last look at that white house she knew
In sleep alone and held no title to
And had not entered yet for all her sighs
What did she tell me of that house of hers
White gatepost terrace fanlight of the door
A widowrsquos walk above the bouldered shore
Salt winds that ruffle the surrounding firs
Is she now there wherever there may be
Only a foolish man would hope to find
That haven fashioned by her dreaming mindNight after night my love I put to sea
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 79
5
A Measuring Worm
This yellow-striped green
Caterpillar climbing up
The steep window screen
Constantly (for lack
Of a full set of legs) keeps
Humping up his back
Itrsquos as if he sent
By a sort of semaphore
Dark omegas meant
To warn of Last ThingsAlthough he doesnrsquot know it
He will soon have wings
And I too donrsquot know
Toward what undreamt condition
Inch by inch I go
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 89
7
Flying
Treetops are not so high
Nor I so low
That I donrsquot instinctively know
How it would be to fly
Through gaps that the wind makes when
The leaves arouse
And there is a lifting of boughs
That settle and lift again
Whatever my kind may be
It is not absurd
To confuse myself with a birdFor the space of a reverie
My species never flew
But I somehow know
It is something that long ago
I almost adapted to
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 99
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 39
Copyright copy 2010 by Richard Wilbur
all rights reserved
For information about permission to reproduce
selections from this book write to Permissions
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
215 Park Avenue South New York New York 10003
wwwhmhbookscom
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wilbur Richard dateAnterooms new poems and translations Richard Wilbur
p cm
isbn 978-0-547-35811-6
I Title
ps3545i32165a8 2010
811rsquo52 mdash dc22 2010005772
Book design by Melissa Lotfy
Printed in the United States of America
doc 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 49
Contents
The House 1
I
A Measuring Worm 5
Flying 7
Psalm 9
Young Orchard 11
Anterooms 13
Trismegistus 15
Terza Rima 17
Galveston 1961 19
A Pasture Poem 21
Ecclesiastes 111 23
Soon 25
II
Steacutephane Mallarmeacute The Tomb of Edgar Poe 29
Paul Verlaine An Unpublished Poem 31
Horace II 10 33
Joseph Brodsky Two Nativity Poems 35
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 59
III
Out Here 41
The Censor 43
A Reckoning 45
A Prelude 47
The Presidentrsquos Song to the Baron 49
Some Words Inside of Words 51
IV
Thirty-seven Riddles from Symphosius 55
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 69
1
The House
Sometimes on waking she would close her eyes
For a last look at that white house she knew
In sleep alone and held no title to
And had not entered yet for all her sighs
What did she tell me of that house of hers
White gatepost terrace fanlight of the door
A widowrsquos walk above the bouldered shore
Salt winds that ruffle the surrounding firs
Is she now there wherever there may be
Only a foolish man would hope to find
That haven fashioned by her dreaming mindNight after night my love I put to sea
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 79
5
A Measuring Worm
This yellow-striped green
Caterpillar climbing up
The steep window screen
Constantly (for lack
Of a full set of legs) keeps
Humping up his back
Itrsquos as if he sent
By a sort of semaphore
Dark omegas meant
To warn of Last ThingsAlthough he doesnrsquot know it
He will soon have wings
And I too donrsquot know
Toward what undreamt condition
Inch by inch I go
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 89
7
Flying
Treetops are not so high
Nor I so low
That I donrsquot instinctively know
How it would be to fly
Through gaps that the wind makes when
The leaves arouse
And there is a lifting of boughs
That settle and lift again
Whatever my kind may be
It is not absurd
To confuse myself with a birdFor the space of a reverie
My species never flew
But I somehow know
It is something that long ago
I almost adapted to
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 99
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 49
Contents
The House 1
I
A Measuring Worm 5
Flying 7
Psalm 9
Young Orchard 11
Anterooms 13
Trismegistus 15
Terza Rima 17
Galveston 1961 19
A Pasture Poem 21
Ecclesiastes 111 23
Soon 25
II
Steacutephane Mallarmeacute The Tomb of Edgar Poe 29
Paul Verlaine An Unpublished Poem 31
Horace II 10 33
Joseph Brodsky Two Nativity Poems 35
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 59
III
Out Here 41
The Censor 43
A Reckoning 45
A Prelude 47
The Presidentrsquos Song to the Baron 49
Some Words Inside of Words 51
IV
Thirty-seven Riddles from Symphosius 55
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 69
1
The House
Sometimes on waking she would close her eyes
For a last look at that white house she knew
In sleep alone and held no title to
And had not entered yet for all her sighs
What did she tell me of that house of hers
White gatepost terrace fanlight of the door
A widowrsquos walk above the bouldered shore
Salt winds that ruffle the surrounding firs
Is she now there wherever there may be
Only a foolish man would hope to find
That haven fashioned by her dreaming mindNight after night my love I put to sea
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 79
5
A Measuring Worm
This yellow-striped green
Caterpillar climbing up
The steep window screen
Constantly (for lack
Of a full set of legs) keeps
Humping up his back
Itrsquos as if he sent
By a sort of semaphore
Dark omegas meant
To warn of Last ThingsAlthough he doesnrsquot know it
He will soon have wings
And I too donrsquot know
Toward what undreamt condition
Inch by inch I go
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 89
7
Flying
Treetops are not so high
Nor I so low
That I donrsquot instinctively know
How it would be to fly
Through gaps that the wind makes when
The leaves arouse
And there is a lifting of boughs
That settle and lift again
Whatever my kind may be
It is not absurd
To confuse myself with a birdFor the space of a reverie
My species never flew
But I somehow know
It is something that long ago
I almost adapted to
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 99
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 59
III
Out Here 41
The Censor 43
A Reckoning 45
A Prelude 47
The Presidentrsquos Song to the Baron 49
Some Words Inside of Words 51
IV
Thirty-seven Riddles from Symphosius 55
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 69
1
The House
Sometimes on waking she would close her eyes
For a last look at that white house she knew
In sleep alone and held no title to
And had not entered yet for all her sighs
What did she tell me of that house of hers
White gatepost terrace fanlight of the door
A widowrsquos walk above the bouldered shore
Salt winds that ruffle the surrounding firs
Is she now there wherever there may be
Only a foolish man would hope to find
That haven fashioned by her dreaming mindNight after night my love I put to sea
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 79
5
A Measuring Worm
This yellow-striped green
Caterpillar climbing up
The steep window screen
Constantly (for lack
Of a full set of legs) keeps
Humping up his back
Itrsquos as if he sent
By a sort of semaphore
Dark omegas meant
To warn of Last ThingsAlthough he doesnrsquot know it
He will soon have wings
And I too donrsquot know
Toward what undreamt condition
Inch by inch I go
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 89
7
Flying
Treetops are not so high
Nor I so low
That I donrsquot instinctively know
How it would be to fly
Through gaps that the wind makes when
The leaves arouse
And there is a lifting of boughs
That settle and lift again
Whatever my kind may be
It is not absurd
To confuse myself with a birdFor the space of a reverie
My species never flew
But I somehow know
It is something that long ago
I almost adapted to
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 99
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 69
1
The House
Sometimes on waking she would close her eyes
For a last look at that white house she knew
In sleep alone and held no title to
And had not entered yet for all her sighs
What did she tell me of that house of hers
White gatepost terrace fanlight of the door
A widowrsquos walk above the bouldered shore
Salt winds that ruffle the surrounding firs
Is she now there wherever there may be
Only a foolish man would hope to find
That haven fashioned by her dreaming mindNight after night my love I put to sea
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 79
5
A Measuring Worm
This yellow-striped green
Caterpillar climbing up
The steep window screen
Constantly (for lack
Of a full set of legs) keeps
Humping up his back
Itrsquos as if he sent
By a sort of semaphore
Dark omegas meant
To warn of Last ThingsAlthough he doesnrsquot know it
He will soon have wings
And I too donrsquot know
Toward what undreamt condition
Inch by inch I go
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 89
7
Flying
Treetops are not so high
Nor I so low
That I donrsquot instinctively know
How it would be to fly
Through gaps that the wind makes when
The leaves arouse
And there is a lifting of boughs
That settle and lift again
Whatever my kind may be
It is not absurd
To confuse myself with a birdFor the space of a reverie
My species never flew
But I somehow know
It is something that long ago
I almost adapted to
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 99
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 79
5
A Measuring Worm
This yellow-striped green
Caterpillar climbing up
The steep window screen
Constantly (for lack
Of a full set of legs) keeps
Humping up his back
Itrsquos as if he sent
By a sort of semaphore
Dark omegas meant
To warn of Last ThingsAlthough he doesnrsquot know it
He will soon have wings
And I too donrsquot know
Toward what undreamt condition
Inch by inch I go
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 89
7
Flying
Treetops are not so high
Nor I so low
That I donrsquot instinctively know
How it would be to fly
Through gaps that the wind makes when
The leaves arouse
And there is a lifting of boughs
That settle and lift again
Whatever my kind may be
It is not absurd
To confuse myself with a birdFor the space of a reverie
My species never flew
But I somehow know
It is something that long ago
I almost adapted to
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 99
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 89
7
Flying
Treetops are not so high
Nor I so low
That I donrsquot instinctively know
How it would be to fly
Through gaps that the wind makes when
The leaves arouse
And there is a lifting of boughs
That settle and lift again
Whatever my kind may be
It is not absurd
To confuse myself with a birdFor the space of a reverie
My species never flew
But I somehow know
It is something that long ago
I almost adapted to
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 99
882019 Anterooms by Richard Wilbur
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullanterooms-by-richard-wilbur 99