Thom Gunn
Thom Gunn (29 augustus 1929 – 25 april 2004)De Engelse dichter Thomson („Thom“) William Gunn werd geboren op 29 augustus 1929 in Gravesend, Kent. Beide ouders waren journalisten. Toen Gunn negen jaar was lieten zij zich scheiden. Zes jaar later pleegde zijn moeder zelfmoord. Tot 1953 studeerde Gunn literatuur in Cambridge. Sinds 1954 woonde hij in de VS en doceerde daar van 1958 tot 1966 en van 1973 tot 1990 aan de University of California (Berkeley). Samen met Philip Larkin en Kinsley Amis was hij mede-oprichter van The Movement. Hij was een van de belangrijkste Britse dichters uit de vorige eeuw. Gunn schreef meer dan dertig dichtbundels en andere boeken.
A Map of the City
I stand upon a hill and see
A luminous country under me,
Through which at two the drunk sailor must weave;
The transient's pause, the sailor's leave.
I notice, looking down the hill,
Arms braced upon a window sill;
And on the web of fire escapes
Move the potential, the grey shapes.
I hold the city here, complete;
And every shape defined by light
Is mine, or corresponds to mine,
Some flickering or some steady shine.
This map is ground of my delight.
Between the limits, night by night,
I watch a malady's advance,
I recognize my love of chance.
By the recurrent lights I see
Endless potentiality,
The crowded, broken, and unfinished!
I would not have the risk diminished.
The Man with Night Sweats
I wake up cold, I who
Prospered through dreams of heat
Wake to their residue,
Sweat, and a clinging sheet.
My flesh was its own shield:
Where it was gashed, it healed.
I grew as I explored
The body I could trust
Even while I adored
The risk that made robust,
A world of wonders in
Each challenge to the skin.
I cannot but be sorry
The given shield was cracked,
My mind reduced to hurry,
My flesh reduced and wrecked.
I have to change the bed,
But catch myself instead
Stopped upright where I am
Hugging my body to me
As if to shield it from
The pains that will go through me,
As if hands were enough
To hold an avalanche off.
