Collected Poems 1943-2004

Collected Poems 1943-2004
by Richard Wilbur

Collected Poems 1943-2004
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Book Summary Information

Author: Richard Wilbur
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-04-03
ISBN: 0156030799
Number of pages: 608
Publisher: Mariner Books

Book Reviews of Collected Poems 1943-2004

Book Review: a recent discovery
Summary: 5 Stars

I am just getting to know the poetry of Richard Wilbur. This, "A Fable," is the poem that brought him to my attention:

Securely sunning in a forest glade, / A mild, well-meaning snake / Approved the adaptations he had made / For safety's sake. // He liked the skin he had -- / Its mottled camouflage, its look of mail, / And was content that he had thought to add / A rattling tail. // The tail was not for drumming up a fight; / No, nothing of the sort. / And he would only use his poisoned bite / As last resort. // A peasant now drew near, / Collecting wood; the snake, observing this, / Expressed concern by uttering a clear / But civil hiss. // The simple churl, his nerves at once unstrung, / Mistook the other's tone / And dashed his brains out with a deftly-flung / Pre-emptive stone // Moral: Security, alas, can give / A threatening impression; / Too much defense-initiative / Can prompt aggression.

On the weight of that poem alone, I ordered up this banquet. And I have not been disappointed. When it arrived, as when confronted with a literal smörgåsbord, I first took in the length and breadth of its offerings before committing myself to a plateful. Having digested that much, I can see that, had I had the foresight to pack it, I could survive just fine shipwrecked on a tropic isle -- ideally one tricked out with a pair of palm trees, a hammock and a source of potable water.

Whatever your equivalent of my island might be, trust me, poet lauriate Richard Wilbur will not disappoint.

Summary of Collected Poems 1943-2004

With a distinguished career spanning more than sixty years, Richard Wilbur stands as one of America's preeminent men of letters. Collected Poems 1943-2004 is the comprehensive collection of Wilbur's astonishing, timeless work. It will serve as the most referenced trove of this beloved poet's best verses for many years to come.

In Trackless Woods
In trackless woods, it puzzled me to find
Four great rock maples seemingly aligned,
As if they had been set out in a row
Before some house a century ago,
To edge the property and lend some shade.
I looked to see if ancient wheels had made
Old ruts to which the trees ran parallel,
But there were none, so far as I could tell-
There'd been no roadway. Nor could I find the square
Depression of a cellar anywhere,
And so I tramped on further, to survey
Amazing patterns in a hornbeam spray
Or spirals in a pine cone, under trees
Not subject to our stiff geometries.

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