Lament for the Makers by Frank Bidart

[This poem pays tribute to a 15th century poet William Dunbar (1465-1520)]

Not bird not badger not beaver not bee

Many creatures must
make, but only one must seek

within itself what to make

My father’s ring was a B with a dart
through it, in diamonds against polished black stone.

I have it. What parents leave you
is their lives.

Until my mother died she struggled to make
a house that she did not loathe; paintings; poems; me.

Many creatures must

make, but only one must seek
within itself what to make

Not bird not badger not beaver not bee

                   •

Teach me, masters who by making were
remade, your art.

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   [This poem pays tribute to a 15th century poet William Dunbar (1465-1520)] Not bird not badger not beaver not bee Many...

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