Poems / July 30, 2024

Of Historical Significance

Michael Wasson

Even the blossoms blown
off in a throb of wind

so god help us
to make love with-

out becoming a plot
of fresh earth some

day the night curved
as a sky sinking

inside an eye I
walk across

a yard of fallen
apples kicking

them to reveal still-
damp flesh & hear

the feet before
the first snow fell

on our lovers
& land before

we worshipped the good
morning in a tongue

trimmed of light I lift
flowers I forgot

the names to in
any English & say

your names the way
I was taught one

after the other.

Michael Wasson

More from The Nation

A scene in The Paper.

“The Paper” and the Return of the Cubicle Comedy “The Paper” and the Return of the Cubicle Comedy

The new show from the creators of The Office reminds us that their comedic style does now work in every “workplace in the world.”

Books & the Arts / Jorge Cotte

The Strange Story of the Famed Anti-Fascist Lament  “First They Came…”

The Strange Story of the Famed Anti-Fascist Lament “First They Came…” The Strange Story of the Famed Anti-Fascist Lament “First They Came…”

In his celebrated mea culpa, the German pastor Martin Niemöller blamed his failure to speak out against the Nazis on indifference. Was that the whole reason?

Feature / Barry Yourgrau

John Updike, Letter Writer

John Updike, Letter Writer John Updike, Letter Writer

A brilliant prose stylist, confident, amiable, and wonderfully lucid when talking about other people’s problems, Updike rarely confessed or confronted his own.

Books & the Arts / Vivian Gornick

The Grand Delusions of “Marty Supreme”

The Grand Delusions of “Marty Supreme” The Grand Delusions of “Marty Supreme”

Josh Safdie’s first solo effort, an antic sports movie, revels in a darker side of the American dream.

Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz

A display shows information about TikTok outside the Fox News building in New York City, 2025.

TikTok’s Incomplete Story TikTok’s Incomplete Story

The company has transformed the very nature of social media, and in the process it has mutated as well—from tech unicorn to geopolitical chesspiece.

Books & the Arts / Erin Schwartz