like Reuben in the Bible.
An atavistic sheen
undid the sexual debut
of this son from the Argentine
but gave him, as a poet,
a thought to write about:
whether all our deeds are darkened
by the shadow of a doubt;
who is, in any action,
the actor, who the author?
If
you do what another has done,
are you the same, or the other?
ADAM KIRSCH
Heroes Have the Whole Earth for Their Tomb
Tonight I read of an ancient war
Once thought self-evidently great,
Out-blazoning all that came before,
Each battlefield a hinge of fate,
And marvel once more at how the gain
Or loss of some extinguished city
Could cause defeated men such pain
And win for the conqueror such glory.
Who wondered then if Amphipo lis
Merited agonizing death,
Or doubted that mighty Brasidas
Would, for as long as men drew breath,
Shine forth in his dear-bought renown?
And when did the majesty of act
Imperceptibly dwindle down
To indifferent, objective fact?
