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On Being Asked During a National Crisis to Write a Poem in Celebration of the Bicentennial of Ralph Waldo Emerson

Caught up in a metaphorical swoon by the oversoul in his head War is on its last legs, he said. The question is only How Soon.

Maxine Kumin

September 9, 2004

Caught up in a metaphorical swoon by the oversoul in his head War is on its last legs, he said. The question is only How Soon. Swayed by the cradling springs of his bed- rock trust in the final perfec- tibility of man, he elec- ted Nature and found Her good. This week a hunter sighting his gun on a flock of ducks at that sacramental hour when waterfowl season opens said pulling the trigger is transcendental.

Maxine Kumin


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