I have walked through many lives,
some of them my own,
and i am not who I was,
though some principle of being
abides, from which I struggle
not to stray.
When I look behind,
as I am compelled to look
before i can gather strength
to proceed on my journey,
I see the milestones dwindling
toward the horizon
and the slow fires trailing
from abandoned camp-sites,
over which scavenger angels
wheel on heavy wings…
Stanley Kunitz is one of America’s greatest poets. He is a recipient of both the Pulitzer and Bolllinger prizes. President Clinton presented Mr. Kunitz with the National Medal of the Arts in 1993.
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