Dear W.S. Merwin,

A friend shared with me a bit of your poem "Berryman" and I will never be the same:

I asked how can you ever be sure

that what you write is really

any good at all and he said you can't

you can't you can never be sure

you die without knowing

whether anything you wrote was any good

if you have to be sure don't write

I had never heard of you but I'm pleased to meet you now.

Sincerely,

PC