Stanley Kunitz Has Died

stanleykunitz
Originally uploaded by Randuwa.

On May 14, 2006 to be exact. He was living in his 101st year of life at the time.

For those who do not know, Stanley Kunitz was an American treasure, and his poems will remain our gift in his absence.

I had the privilege to hear him read at the Folger Library back in 2000. Before the event, my ex- and I went to an eccentric little Capitol Hill Restaurant, Thai Roma's, for dinner. And to our delight, Mr. Kunitz, his chaperone from the Folger and his young niece chose the same place for dinner.

To this day I regret not picking up the check for them....especially after being so entertained by his consternation over the staff's inability to get his martini order right. No doubt a result of the fact that they were employed by a Thai-Italian restaurant!

The evening at the Folger was delightful, and Mr. Kunitz will be sorely missed. At the risk of a law-suit, I offer you this sample:

HAILEY'S COMET

Miss Murphy in first grade
wrote its name in chalk
across the board and told us
it was roaring down the stormtracks
of the Milky Way at frightful speed
and if it wandered off its course
and smashed into the earth
there'd be no school tomorrow.
A red-bearded preacher from the hills
with a wild look in his eyes
stood in the public square
at the playground's edge
proclaiming he was sent by God
to save every one of us,
even the little children.
"Repent, ye sinners!" he shouted,
waving his hand-lettered sign.
At supper I felt sad to think
that it was probably
the last meal I'd share
with my mother and my sisters;
but I felt excited too
and scarcely touched my plate.
So mother scolded me
and sent me early to my room.
The whole family's asleep
except for me. They never heard me steal
into the stairwell hall and climb
the ladder to the fresh night air.
Look for me, Father, on the roof
of the red brick building
at the foot of Green Street—
that's where we live, you know, on the top floor.
I'm the boy in the white flannel gown
sprawled on this coarse gravel bed
searching the starry sky,
waiting for the world to end.