And as we're all in the Poetry Center--
I don't write about other poets, but this
is one that involves the great Scots poet, Hugh MacDiarmid,
who I have enormous regard for.
I never met him, which is probably
just as well, because this poem would have offended him.
He was known for many things, but not
for his sense of humor or his easy sensuality.
In this poem, I imagine at that very meeting, which both of us
would have found excruciating.
[LAUGHTER]
"The Tweed."
Giving a back rub to Hugh MacDiarmid.
I felt through the tweed so much tension
in that determined neck, those little bony shoulders,
that when it was released, he simply stood up and fell over.
[LAUGHTER]