I followed the past--

I followed the past
Of Goethe, of Rilke I
Hungered of books
And such, and Love,
Ah, so--I composed
In short months, I
Took the feeling from
Air, like so many
Jeweled fruit, hanging
Freely. I strive now
To complete the translations,
Take the German, the
Russian, the French,
Or; to paint a map
Across my bedroom wall
And trace the routes
Of armies. I am like that.
Short months ago,
Time moves like battles,
Bringing out the men and
Children from their trenches
Time: built like
Forts along the Niagara,
The Rhine. I
Trace them out as well.
Truth is in men and
Maps and following
The past of rivers and poets
And soldiers.