Pinckney Street

for James Carroll

The view from the crest
down to the river—
you stopping to say that
for three weeks each year
and beginning tomorrow
this will be the most beautiful
place in the city—brick-faced
buildings blushing in sunlight,
star magnolias building
and about to burst—
soon to be our bright badges,
medallions all the way down
to the water and beyond to
the “foil” Hopkins shook
and wrote about—a few days
of grandeur, hope, gratitude.

from: The Looking House (Graywolf Press)

Our area is blessed with many extraordinary poets, but I return to the work of Fred Marchant most often, especially when I’m needing a clear and deeply humane voice, one that both comforts and surprises. From his first book — Tipping Point (which won the 1993 Washington Prize) – to his most recent, Said Not Said (Greywolf Press) which was an “Honors Book” in the 2017 Massachusetts Book Awards, Fred’s work demonstrates how language connects us to all that’s brought us to this point, even as it awakes us to what’s coming next.