News at Eleven: Then W. S. Merwin proceeds with

a group of personal poems that recall childhood moments ("my mother told me/that I was not afraid of the dark/and when I looked it was true"), the death of a father, the inheritance of a Webster's dictionary that became a well-worn poet's tool.

The second section of the book deals with darkness and mourning, centered on a stunning rendition of "Little Soul," a poem attributed to the Emperor Hadrian. Here is Merwin's version:

Little soul little stray

from The Seattle Times: Poet ponders life's contrasts in "The Shadow of Sirius"

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