Thanks for alerting us to that website, jjorge.
Here's a poem by the late Senator Eugene McCarthy which I received by e-mail today from
www.milkweed.com (if you haven't signed up for their free "e-verse" service, do). You've got to hand it to the folks at Milkweed -- not only was it a nice idea for them to honor McCarthy at this time, but they picked a lovely poem.
Courage After Sixty
Now it is certain.
There is no magic stone.
No secret to be found.
One must go
With the mind's winnowed learning.
No more than the child's handhold
On the willows bending over the lake,
On the sumac roots at the cliff edge.
Ignorance is checked,
Betrayals scratched.
The coat has been hung on the peg,
The cigar laid on the table edge,
The cue chosen and chalked,
The balls set for the final break.
All cards drawn,
All bets called.
The dice, warm as blood in the hand,
Shaken for the last cast.
The glove has been thrown to the ground,
The last choice of weapons made.
A book for one thought.
A poem for one line.
A line for one word.
"Broken things are powerful."
Things about to break are stronger still.
The last shot from the brittle bow is truest.
--Eugene J. McCarthy
