“Dead Center” by James Merrill:
Upon reflection, as I dip my pen
Tonight, forth ripple messages in code.
In Now’s black waters burn the stars of Then.Seen from the embankment, marble men
Sleep upside down, bat-wise, the sleep bestowed
Upon reflection. As I dip my penThinking how others, deeper into Zen,
Blew on immediacy until it glowed,
In Now’s black waters burn the stars of Then.Or else I’m back at Grandmother’s. I’m ten,
Dust hides my parents’ roadster from the road
Which dips—into reflection, with my pen.Breath after breath, harsh O’s of oxygen—
Never deciphered, what do they forbode?
In Now’s black waters burn the stars. Ah thenLeap, Memory, supreme equestrienne,
Through hoops of fire, circuits you overload!
Beyond reflection, as I dip my pen
In Now’s black waters, burn the stars of Then.
(From Collected Poems © 2001 by The Literary Estate of James Merrill at Washington University. Reprinted by kind permission of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Photo by Lisa Birtch)
The Dish 