Wendell Berry (James Baker Hall/Library of America)

My old poems—I liked them all
well enough when they were new.
They came through the air, I wrote them down,
and sent them on, as also I fed
the birds who stopped here to eat
as they were passing through. Now
I’m asked to read those poems again.
What for? They all are from the Country
of Déjà Vu, which is where
I have no need to go back to.

Wendell Berry was the author of more than fifty books, including Leavings, Window Poems, and Given. He lived and worked with his wife, Tanya Berry, in Kentucky.

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Published in the January 13, 2012 issue: View Contents

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