Poet Stanley Kunitz dies at 100

It's been a while since I've posted. I attended a thought-provoking New Research Summit at the University of Oreogn last Friday (May 12th), and once I catch up I definitely want to share some ideas from the Summit. Thanks to the amazing Suzanne Clark for organizing and hosting the Summit!

For now, I simply want to note the passing of Stanley Kunitz, a poet whose work has meant a lot to me.

Here is a poem from his 2000 Collected Poems. I have always found it to be a very powerful reflection on death.

The Long Boat

When his boat snapped loosefrom its mooring, under
the screaking of the gulls,
he tried at first to wave
to his dear ones on shore,
but in the rolling fog
they had already lost their faces.
Too tired even to choose
between jumping and calling,
somehow he felt absolved and free
of his burdens, those mottoes
stamped on his name-tag:
conscience, ambition, and all
that caring.
He was content to lie down
with the family ghosts
in the slop of his cradle,
buffeted by the storm,
endlessly drifting.
Peace! Peace!
To be rocked by the Infinite!
As if it didn't matter
which way was home;
as if he didn't know
he loved the earth so much
he wanted to stay forever.