Stanley Kunitz could be my friend He was a poet and a gardener I have never met him in person, but he has the characteristics of someone I would really like He is deceased We are less without him Twice he was Poet Laureate of the United States He has written many books of poetry but I “met” him when reading a book about him He is a man who has such a profound relationship with his work that it took only a few snippets of reading to teach me new and valuable lessons He is working in his lovely garden He pulls a weed, clips back some overgrowth, removes a few older, starting to dry leaves He cultivates an area; does a little fertilizing and waters where needed Looking at the sun, he wipes his brow, then goes back to the garden Everything is as he knows it should be for him, not perfect and not symmetrical for then it wouldn’t be his garden It would be landscape As much as he loves his garden, he loves words They, too, need to flow. They are not to be impeded by someone’s empirical rules. They are natural, colorful, truthful, simple and direct to the point he is making He won’t change them to some that will fill in just right He will not alter them to make what he is saying a little more dressy. It wouldn’t be him or his richness And so too, as we live, we can conclude that our truth should flow naturally and easily in all situations of life and our purpose, whether understood or not, should not be tampered with, adjusted or altered just to make a good appearance A garden attended with love, just is The poetry, to speak, must be in the true voice Our lives cannot be contrived if they are to be fulfilling, rich and beautiful Thank you, Stanley I wish I could have met you and been your friend Stanski January 22, 2020 ^
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Steve Haarman 