W.S. Merwin has received numerous awards, including the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. This poem, "Language," is representative of the pieces in his newest book, The Book of Fables, which assembles material from two out-of-print collections.
To mark National Poetry Month, NPR.org is featuring a series of newly published works selected by the Academy of American Poets. Learn more about this and other titles at the academy's New Spring Books list.
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