The former U. S. Poet Laureate features Kentucky poet Jonathan Greene’s “At the Grave.”
Nebraska poet Ted Kooser introduces the poem with the following comment: “Many of us have felt helpless when we've tried to assist friends who are dealing with the deaths of loved ones. Here the Kentucky poet and publisher, Jonathan Greene, conveys that feeling of inadequacy in a single sentence. The brevity of the poem reflects the measured and halting speech of people attempting to offer words of condolence.”
The first four lines:
As Death often
sidelines us
it is good
to contribute
For the whole poem, please see American Life in Poetry: Column 2.
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