for Stanley Plumly

Close your eyes for too long and you can be gone
—from “Night Pastorals,” his final poem

he said put yourself in the poem
but I had written about the potato famine
in Ireland have you been there he asked

yes I said to Dingle on the peninsula
where sheep graze and the Blaskets
where seals bob in the shallows

but he was drawn into dark tides
of his own and clearing his throat
he asked can you film the scene

stay in the moment be a guide
for you can’t just disappear in the poem
or let your mind get lost in memories

poetry is a meditation and a looking back
he said and there are only six shapes
in nature and one is the meander

don’t be in a hurry to send out poems
he said let it take years it’s awful
when you can’t get what you want

what matters most is how pain
can weigh you down
then you must start all over again