F.D. Reeve, 1928 – 2013

We are greatly saddened to hear of F.D. Reeve's passing on June 28. An accomplished poet, translator, and editor, Reeve published dozens of poems and reviews in Poetry over the years. His last poem in the magazine was "Home in Wartime," published in October 2002:

Oxbows round the lower pasture wall;
new-mown hay and honeysuckle sweeten
the bitter modern air;
sunlight waterfalls over the woods;
life is a dream.

The phalanx of pin-headed turkeys parading the meadow
ignores the war, but the birch leaves shake with fear
and the mountain burns with reprisals.
Give me your hand. Trust it like love
down the hall at night.

If I die first, gather the lost years
with the late September apples. At sunset ghost me
beside you on the steps to watch
the tangerine-lavender clouds turn gray.
Go on, go on.

If you die first—the sheets as cold as fish,
the dogs whimpering their loneliness each morning,
the old walls cracking the silence—
I'll lay your ashes on top of the hill
where the sky begins.

More of Reeve's work can be found here in the Poetry magazine archive. "A Seaside Crucifix" was his first appearance in the magazine, nearly forty-four years ago.