Cooler but still well above normal this week

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

James Lenfestey is the author of several poetry collections, including 

A while back I wrote about a documentary called "

," all about the Tang Dynasty poet Han Shan. Lenfestey features prominently in that documentary, and is a great devotee of the eccentric character from 12 centuries ago. It inspired Lenfestey to write 

, a collection of 100 poems written in the style of Han Shan. Here's one of them:

His name ambushed me out of black granite, a college friend.

And with his death, a vow revealed carved on my heart

these thirty years: We who stayed must also pay.

They carried dead back to the chopper, we only carried water.

This is the way it is for us who did not go,

no matter how hard we fought to save those crouched in this dark wall.

'til our names too are carved on polished stone.

- "At the Vietnam Memorial" by James P. Lenfestey, as it appears in his collection of poems 

. Reprinted here with permission from the publisher.

Arts and Culture

State of the Arts Blog

Marianne Combs

Author

Lenfestey speaks of modern life with the voice of an ancient Chinese poet.

James Lenfestey’s “At the Vietnam Memorial”

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox