How We Are Spared, from The Lice, 1967
W.S. Merwin, born 1929, American poet
At midsummer before the dawn an orange light returns to the mountain
Red Sun, oil on canvas, 1935. Arthur Dove, 1880-1946, American. The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC
Like a great weight and the small birds cry out
Birds; 1950; oil on canvas. Norman Lewis, 1900-1979, American. On exhibit at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 2015 courtesy of Kara and Wayne Fingerman
And bear it up
Countless Upward; and detail; 1959; crayon, ink and watercolour on paper. Norman Lewis, 1900-1979, American. On exhibit at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in 2015. Private Collection, Cleveland