Transcendental Studies by Keith Waldrop was honored with the 2009 National Book Award in Poetry. Below is one of my favorite excerpts from the first poem in his collection.
Excerpt from Shipwreck in Haven
Need not end. Indeed, nothing. Step
out. Grist for wits. Shadow of your
shell. Stand there.
No other ground. No
other. And the world concerns you every-
where, but do not identify with it.
Let light onto us. Flowers through the
gate, flowers skimming
the wall. A carpet of petal.
Treasures below the earth. Neither in
this world nor another, guarding.
Nothing but fade and flourish.
