Jack Gilbert

Once you reach 30, the rest of your life ought to be plotted from the standpoints of where you want to live, what you want to see, and who you want to be with. 

There's only so much time, even to a life that seems timeless.

When I learned of Jack Gilbert's death, I didn't think of his death I thought of his life.

It appears he lived his life the way he lived the poems he wrote, with the idea that anything you love takes time; that what you love is what you have to do. There are lots of place names in his poems and names of real people, mostly women but some men.

There's a tribute to Jack Gilbert on Slate. If you have the time, listen to all fifteen minutes.  If you don't have the time, forward to the last two minutues or so and listen as he reads a poem that is both a memory of a horrible accident and the story of failed love.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/11/13/jack_gilbert_dead_poet_was_87.html