I'm just coming into this, just starting to feel the weight of her passing, having had to shove other poets and my own 'stuff' out of the way first. Eight days later it is hitting me. Odd, since I'd never heard of her before your class, Jack, yet here she is, suddenly, dug into me like a chigger.

"A friend dies, a poet dies, poetry lives on:
There’s nothing you can say."

I think this says it all.

Thanks for this, love.

xo
Julie D.

Wonderful Jack. That’s the moment you know

Everything is different now. There is the spider

In the corner and the wife who loves you.

The loss of a great and dear poet..well put.

I am right beside you..you put me there.

Wonderful poem, Jack.

This is masterful and true in the deepest sense. It.also captures an aspect of the essential nature of both great poets-Grapes and Szymborska.
I would love to have been in her presence once.

Maureen Grady

The unsettling truth of change of passing of new beginnings
Beautiful! Touching! True!
Thank you for sharing Jack

You've inspired me with your beautiful poem. I'm grateful you've made me aware of her work. Now I feel inspired by her work, too.

the silence, the cobweb, the spider, symbol of infinite creativity,
and of course, all = SZYMBORSKA.
Thank you Jack.

Your poem was such a comfort, to be with others in grief, and to excuse myself from remaining there, as your poem so beautifully ended. Thank you for speaking so authentically to loss.

thank you, jack….this poem moves me all over the place, makes me gasp for air, cry then cracks me up…thank you for the flight and the joyful landing. szymborska would love this like i do.

the poet writes a poem about
another poet’s death and so how
i learn of that poet’s death
is from the poet who turned
me onto this poet, and to poetry,
period, in the first place. that,
i’m pretty sure, is poetry.

The passing of a great voice, the birth of a great poem. Ashes to pages, digital dust. Everything in between, that’s just extra, to quote an old man called Grandpa. I don’t know whether to cry or text somebody.

Thanks, Jack, for this beautiful piece. I outlined the"voices" you used….hope I am right. Will ask you in class.
XOXO Leslie Tuchman

this is beautiful and I will be re-reading it often. thank you for writing and sharing. And as Lucinda, who commented earlier, said: ….you put me there.

Circle of life captured in a simple, poignant poem. Masterful, Jack. Thank you.

Great work Jack – That's where life is somewhere between spider webs, teacups and the remote. Thanks, Jack. Love, Sarah Mac

Your observation is your talent. The words flow and I am allowed into your heart.

"the balloon of being and nothingness" … the silence and all that space. you have captured the yearning left when someone dear has passed. so very beautiful. thank you jack.

Wonderful poem Jack. It's amazing how the death of someone we've never met, only know through books, can touch us. You caught it all.

Beautiful, Jack.

Thank you for this poem, Jack Grapes. No, there isn't much one can say, but it does say something that Adam Leipzig put Szymborska right up top. Szymborska was the first piece I saw when I went to Cultural Weekly today. Thank you Adam Leipzig for making Cultural Weekly a place where poets get the respect they deserve.

This is a lovely poem!

Damn, it's good to hear your voice again Jack. Wonderful poem.

Beautiful poem, Jack!

More brilliance from Jack Grapes! This poem moved my soul. Thank you, Cultural Weekly.

amazing and beautiful poem. thank you.

It's a fantastic piece Jack. What an honor to honor her this way. And Adam, very nice choice, sir! Very nice.

I am heart-ache-moved by this poem. It's the infinite and the cleaning up cobwebs. Yes! Breaking china. Ouch.

My best friend called and read your poem to me on the phone. Right in my ear, you were. Szymborska,too.

Jack, you are my favorite poet on this (or any) planet. "… poetry lives on… "

I love this poem. I first read it when I was still stunned by her passing, and I don't know why I was stunned. I know people die. I know that even poets die. All I wanted to do for a couple of days was read her poetry, and then articles about her — once they started coming. I'm so curious about the many years she had of silence. Two years here, nine years there, and all the things we don't know about what she did with her body and her mind in all the in between spaces. I read she left 400 poems behind. Four hundred poems. And I am just so curious about that special soul in all the in between times. Jack writes about all the in between times.
I so appreciate this Cultural Weekly. I so appreciate Jack Grapes and his poetry.

Gorgeous poem. I appreciate the deep insight into both this wondrous poet and your private world.. Thank you, Jack. You're always generous.

You always have something to teach me. Thank you again. Joan D.

The room expanded
into that quiet bubble we experience
when we shut off the tv.

Szymborska was gone.

We just lay there for a bit,
in the silence,

You need a poet
at a time like this,
and the poet was gone.

Such a long silence.

How beautiful are you, Jack Grapes? In my naiveté, I had "heard" of Szymborska, maybe read one of her poems, but never known her as you just shared. Thank you for the beautiful introduction…even at her passing.

Great poem, Jack, great, not "good." As always, you touch me with your words, from a deep heart soul place.

Thank you Jack. This is why we write. The death of a great poet, the clipboard, the marriage, the cobwebs, the order somehow found or made in all those collisions. Thank you for finding the notes. Thank you for singing at this moment.

Simple , unshowy and direct. really touching.

As we go about our daily life we are helped with poets like Jack Grapes to appreciate the mystery between the slices of rye. Thank you Jack for bringing us to the heartbreak and then without judgement , letting us return to the place where there are old movies , soap operas and spiders in the corner and it doesn't delete the awe.

Jack, sitting here in NYC on my friend Helen's bed imagining the moment with Lori the bed spider web emptiness and the death of a poet. Thank you for transporting me to LA ; for your deep voice and memorable image moment.
Kathrin

a moment of poetry passes.

Forever in thought Jack Grapes

Imagine if she had read it.

Your words resonate in my bones and dance through me and all the broken pieces of china. What a beautiful tribute to one of my favorite poets that I discovered from you.

"Someone, broom in hand,
still recalls the way it was.
Someone else listens"

Jack Grapes, thank you for recalling, I am still listening.
Linda Pence

"You need a poet at a time like this". Thank God for Jack Grapes. One of the tenderest honorings of a death.

Too much poetry today is like my grandmother's living room. Formal and musty, and nobody ever wants to hang out there. This poem was warm, rich, full of life and deeply mindful of the darkness outside the door. It's a poem I wanted to linger in. And it made me want to read Szymborska, who, somewhere, was smiling as she read it.

the deep loss of Ms. Szymborska to all lovers of her work was expressed in as sensitive a manner as all of us will come to experience as the loss becomes real and is felt by the absence of her words.thank you Jack Grapes for allowing me to stay in touch with how her words have touched me as have yours.
Ruth Schneider.

When people in my life die, I don't know how to be. My two brothers; my first husband; my most important aunt; Picasso; Peter Sellers. Your poem makes that not-knowing okay, puts me at (a sort of) ease with the ordinariness, and that is comforting to me.

Thank you, Jack.

Jack you are living proof that cream rises to the top….You bring your own special magic to honor Szymborska…Hold up the light my sweet friend

A sonorous tribute to a great poet from a great poet. Let the spider be a while longer while I read and hear.

A beautiful and touching tribute, fit for 2012 sensibilities. Thanks, Jack

This is a great poem.
A precious gift.
To Szymborska.
To us.
Thank you for writing it, Jack Grapes.
Thank you for premiering it, Cultural Weekly.

when the light goes out…another poet turns it back on.

thanks jack,

Beautiful and touching poem. Thank you Jack and thank you Cultural Weekly for posting it.

So many voices Jack. I loved the twists and turns that you so easily navigated as your brilliant mind just let go and created. So much to learn in between the lines of your beautiful tribute to the poet you knew so well.

Very touching, and written with the unique voice of another master Jack Grapes. RIP

Jack Grapes draws us inside his powerful emotional connection to the poet Szymborska through his brilliant use of image/moment. Love this piece! Thanks Adam for showcasing Jack's poem in Cultural Weekly.

well said, jim

lovely – thanks Jack and thanks to the Cultural Weekly for sharing this poem with your readers.

Jack, you convey a truth about the void left behind by death
that goes to the raw core of grief.
I've searched for the meaning of what I have felt when I have lost someone
and you explained it to me.
I guess that's what great poets do.
Thank you.

Beautifully said with great heart. Thank you, Jack
Fran

Thank you for giving me this poem, Jack. And thank you for giving me my own poetry.

This is such a beautiful piece, Jack — crafted with such skill and heart. What a gift to Szymborska, and now, for all of us. Thank you Adam, for showcasing this piece.

"You need a poet at at time like this, and the poet was gone…"
Really touching
She was one of the first poets I fell in love with when I was 17….Thank you CW for posting at a time when we are all mourning her loss, and treasuring the work she left behind for us that will carry her spirit for future generations of young hungry hearts.

I love this poem Jack, as I squeezed it at The Juice Bar, my poetry site…so endearing & original,
a great tribute to a master poet! Thank you for your thoughts & heartfelt words Jack! – Lisa

Thank you for this, Jack. Really.

I keep re-reading this poem because it is so beautiful, so true, so filled with heart. There is something about the big theme of death vs. the small details of ordinary life (the clipboard, the remote, the broken teacups
) that captures me every time. Thank you Jack Grapes!

Oh, Cultural Weekly, you're killing me! First Mia Sara, then Richard Jones, & now, the master, Jack Grapes, with this powerful tribute to a fellow master poet. Fabulous! I never miss an issue of Cultural Weekly.

So wonderful and moving…

A fine examination of loss. Solid, in the world and not of it.

so lovely. thanks.

Thank you Jack for the simple and beautiful expression of the immensity and non-plussed-ness of death. I always love reading your work, and thank you to CW for publishing, I agree with Scarlet.

Thank you Jack for writing this for us and thank you Cultural Weekly for sending it out when we needed comfort. How it helps the heart to share sorrow and to share it through the words of a beloved teacher and our home town Cultural Weekly. .
It sure helped me Jack got throwing china in there. A fitting epitaph for our poet's hand-painted bone- china soul. Words, all we have is words…and each other, write on dear Jack Grapes,
Mary Rose Betten

Thank you Jack, for a moment of grief and life. so real.

My favorite line: "… and their passing fills the space in our lives with all that silence." Such a real and honest moment of reflection. Thank you; this is a poem I'll think about for a long time.

LOVE the contrast of silence and smashing china – such is life and death. Well done! Bravo! – Barbara

Thanks for the poem, Jack. And thank you Cultural Weekly for publishing it. What I love about Jack's work is the interplay between the mundane and the profound. Very moving.

A fitting tribute to a beautiful artist!

What a beauty Jack! It’s such a treat to hear your voice. Thank you- Sheila

This poem is at once breathtaking, in it's ability to transmit such loss, such admiration and love in a moment of real life image. Thank you Jack, again and again for your gift.

Dear Jack,
Your piece on Syzmborska has so many human elements; love, appreciation, death and mourning.
It is a stunning work and I'll read it over many times.
Many thanks,
Elena Irving

Dear Jack,

There is an indescribable feeling when you lose someone that you love and admire.
Your poem sweetly expresses your sadness for her loss and the way she touched your soul.
Sending deepest condolences.

Warmest wishes,
Karen Ahmanson

Jack is a great teacher and his heart is the size of Texas!!!! Print everything he sends you! Hugs!
More poetry and more love for all of us! Angela Robinson Witherspoon

"….yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there", well, Jack, we won't die miserably as long as poets like you exist and publications like The Cultural Weekly are here to help light the way.
With much gratitude,
Candace

Thank you for sharing your poem,

Nice that the Cultural Weekly had the good taste to publish Grapes' touching tribute to Szymborska. She was as good a poet as we've had: accessible, human, wonderfully droll & incisive & surprising in her perceptions. & she translates well into English thanks to Clare Cavanaugh & Stanaslaw Baranczac.The Billy Collins introduction to her "Monologue of a Dog" collection is well worth reading. Again, how nice of Jack Grapes to have written that sweet, touching poem upon Szymborska's death…& for CW to have published it!

I loved how you took us from the crazy people crashing teacups into the silent bubble of time stopping after someone dies and then back to the broken teacups. Thank you Jack Grapes for writing this and thank you Cultural Weekly for publishing it.

To give me a moment to slow down.

Pause

In the midst of noise and speed

I slowed down

I am grateful

Thank you

"The poet was gone.' Yes she was gone but you live on as a beautiful poet capturing the pain of loss, reminding us that poetry lives on, enriches our lives in the peek of every spider web, in our fingers on the TV remote on a bed at night, in all the moments that make a life. Thank you Jack, thank you Cultural Weekly.
Love LIve Poetry!!!!!!!

Thank you, Jack. The duality has never been more clear for me today. Thank you.

Beautiful poem and tribute. Thank you for introducing me to Szymborska.

"you need a poet at a time like this" and anytime you need someone to suck the meaning out of the silence…who you guna call? Grapes! nanosecond after nanosecond we need to decide whether to chase the spider or watch some TV…who better to help me know than Grapes.

"We just lay there … / not sure whose turn it was / to turn the moment / back into words." And what is poetry, if not that all too fragile uncertainty that Jack is portraying? To be able to stay attuned to that uncertainty for over 40 years is the mark of genuinely accomplished poet. This poem is a duet of farewell with another master of the liminal. All of us poets should be so lucky as to be sent off with an elegy replete with such a full measure of candor.

Love the poem Jack, and this introduction to Cultural Weekly. Thanks!

This piece reads like a poem. Front, middle and back… and I want more

What a thoughtful, playful, wonderful tribute to the passing of a bard.

Bravo, Jack Grapes!

i have to add that i love where this poem takes me…from the painfully vacuous stillness of loss thru to the laughter and joy of life going on…it says so very much in such a concise powerful way leaving me with a sense that i figured it all out on my own…and, most importantly, that i'm not alone…it's so beautifully inclusive and intimate…this is what great poetry does for the human spirit and why i love it. i salute you jack grapes. thank you.

Great poem from one of LAs best.

Jack,

Amazing…I felt like I was looking in at your world in a snow globe as you perfectly described the world going on inside.

You are truly the Master…

Frank James / Palm Springs,CA

And so we face the silence and go on carrying with us Symborska and Jack and all the other poets, some of whom go by names other than "poet" but who nevertheless are poets or poems. Each. Each. Each. And we are glad. Thanks, Jack, for recalling us to the place of silence and beginning, again. Poetry's work.

Paula

I stood there, looking down for an isntant. I saw them, they seemed as delicate as flowers in the fields.
I stood there.
Under the rain walking I saw them. They trembled at the sound of thunders
the sun burns them, the sun gives them life.
At war I saw them. They looked up for help. I was tempted to reach my hand but i waited for a while. Their existance is so short.
I blinked once they had reached the clouds.
They call themselves humans….. they are just an extension of Me.

Really gets you in touch with the knowledge that artists die and art lives on. I am thinking about what i will leave behind when i am no longer in a body. You work is wonderful.

Thank you for sharing Jack Grapes poem with us. I'm savoring the bittersweet flavor of poignance.

fantastic poem, I love the relationship between the writer of the poem and his loving wife (and the moment the t.v. is turned back on, genius)

lovely

Exquisite tribute!

These days I feel bombarded by news, by trivia, by mediocrity. But to read Jack Grapes' poem on the passing of Szymborska restores my faith in the human heart. Thank you Jack Grapes and thank you Cultural Weekly.

The voices, the voices, the voices they are amazing

Thanks jack

Unlimited love and appreciated for YOU BOTH~!! You say it for us all~~~~~Thank You Jack GrapesMaster~!!

Thank you — for the beautiful poem, so true to life, and for introducing Szymborska to those of us who didn't know her.

"We just lay there for a bit,
in the silence,
not sure who would break it,
not sure whose turn it was
to turn the moment
back into words"

You always give us these pictures of familiar moments that grab at me. Not because i knew the poet (I didn't) but because now I know that moment – and I know you have them too. Beautiful poem, Jack, and now I get to discover Szymborska too.

Jack practices what he preaches and can do what he teaches! He's a man who lives in the best part of his brain and the best part of his heart all day long. I'm glad I met him. A fine poem!

The poet (the living one, that is) could use an editor to cut out the "justs" Beyond that small annoyance, Grapes shifts voice beautifully, yanking us awake and drop-kicking our attention into unexpected zones. His reassurance ["Don't worry, dear reader... You will be safe"] is reinforced nicely, returning us "to a semblance of the world," one inhabited by the imperfection we so need: "all that love and passion, all those broken teacups." We are engaged; we are reassured.

Thank you, Jack, for reminding us of the quiet bubble where we get to think, to feel, to write.
After so much loss, I know that our writing can create that hallowed space to honor those on both sides of the veil.
I'll re-read it when I need to remember…KK

Jack Grapes, thank you for converting your thoughts – a poetic tribute worthy to be adopted by all of us for a memorable poet icon. And thank you Cultural Weekly for recognizing Jack's poetic gestured should be shared with the cultural cyber-world. Bravo! Judy Salamacha, Director, Central Coast Writers' Conference at Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Utterly beautiful. Thank you… She'll be missed.

Simply beautiful, Jack. Always a pleasure to read your work.

Thank you for the elegant contours and contrasts of this poem. Life and death brought into deep focus. So heartfelt and moving. Thank you!

A wonderful example of all you are. Brilliant and moving. Thank you Jack.

you're right B.L. My wife usually cuts those "justs" out of my work. There were two of them, I think, and both could go. Nice catch, appreciate the reminder.

What a true gift
For a fallen comrade
Words will forever
Face the world
With the force of a thunder storm

Poetry passion peaks
Through your method
hearts cry speak.

What an honor you did Jack.

mdh

Such a beautiful homage to Symborska which manages to touch the bits of our lives surrounded by 'the
thens, the nows and the in-betweens.' With gratitude to Jack Grapes and to Cultural Weekly.

I feel like breaking a cup. Futile, but satisfying.

this is why we love our Poets…

thank you for waking us up to the moment… bringing us into your mind, emotions, physical reality…which of course we all share.

Jack, you're brilliant. Thank you for this. It's beautiful and perfect and true.

Moments between breathing in and breathing out are filled with the crashing teacups beauty grief and Jacks’ deep understanding of the poet and poetry. A soul breathes internally. Thank you Jack

You take my breathe away with your relentlessly giving heart, reminding us all of who we really are underneath our tired smiles. Thank you. Again.

I am touched by this poem and the the truth in the silent revealing moments. Thank you Jack Grapes.

Such a beautiful poem! Mr. Grapes really captures it here…broken teacups.

Beautiful – Thank you Jack

I'd never heard of Szymborska until I read this poem.

The lines,
"A balloon of being and nothingness,
a reduction of existence
into a series of appearances,
overcoming those dualisms
that have embarrassed philosophy
and replacing them with the monism
of the phenomenon"

particularly struck me. One poet writes of another poet's death and the expression reminds me of my own experience of deep grief. How can that be?

"But my grief is special," I want to cry out with italics and maybe a foot stomp. How can this poet know about that balloon of being and nothingness? I thought that was mine, alone.

So, I googled Szymborska herself and found "Cat in an Empty Apartment" which ends with—–no, I don't want to quote it. Look it up if you don't know it, the whole thing is so beautiful. As often as I read poems like these, my life is made more rich, the pains are borne with a reminder that I'm not as alone as I thought.

Thank you CW for bringing poetry to the front page.

I've been wanting to comment for days. What to say that hasn't been said? Jack Grapes is the master knocking at our door unadorned. Come on in and let's keep the China safe until it must be shattered. Later, some shards escape the broom, nest in the space between the TV and the bed, waiting.

Simple words ain't so simple. Thanks Jack, for putting down on paper what I can only feel.

This is so lovely and tender.

one unique poet commenting on the life of another, bringing the loss of a human voice down to a level we all relate to. sometimes it's necessary to be reminded of the world of broken china. thank you jack.

what tragic irony that to have read such a romantic and bittersweet poem the day before Valentine's Day.

Jack,

Your poetic prowess excites me …and makes me feel secure. You know what you're doing and you do it beautifully. You make me want to do it beautifully too.
Arva

How nice that you can do it AND you teach it.

Lovely.

Thank you Jack, for insisting on our need for a voice to say what we universally feel…and for doing it so beautifully. I look forward to more please. Fiona Goodwin

Poetry is the juice of our soul. Thank you, Jack,

Jack, I enjoyed this poem especially the stanza that starts "It's like turning off the TV,…" And thank you for writng this to introduce many, poetry void like myself, to Szmborksa.

Thank you Jack for introducing me to Szymborska and for bringing poets and poetry indelibly into my life. Your poem does honor to the artists and the art.

Thanks for writing this Jack, drawing my attention to Szymborska's passing, and to this blog. I never liked the tv.

this poem reached into that empty place in my chest and filled it up. thank you for your words.

Jack, thank you for writing this beautiful poem, and thank you to Cultural Weekly for publishing it on their website. This poem makes the universe feel tiny and expansive at the same time. The little crack in the ceiling is both a hairline fracture and a deep abyss. Jack, your poem will inspire many to read Szymborska's work and hear her voice, including me!

Facing the news of the death of someone we’ve loved even if we haven’t known them in the flesh, someone who lit a torch in our particular darkness, a soul-brother or sister who waved to us from afar, someone we were in a significant relationship with without even knowing it, finding out that this person has died is a grief that overthrows, confuses, humbles and pierces… this poem took me to the landscape I’ve lived in but hadn’t named. Thank you, Cultural Weekly, for printing this gorgeous, timeless piece. And thank you, Jack Grapes, for the flooding generosity of spirit that permeates your brilliance. Happy Valentines Day to you and everyone we love, here on earth, and elsewhere.

At the end of "Elegaic Calculation," Symborska provides in other words, different words, her reaction to those who "crossed that threshold." The poem ends with "They've given themselves up to endless (if not otherwise) silence. They're only concerned with that (if only that) which their absence demands." I thought of this elegy when reading Grapes' poem, which was, in itself, a paen to those who help interpret the human condition.
Good job, Jack. Good job, Cultural Weekly.

Wonderful to see this poetry in this venue. This is one of those poems that make time stand still. Thank you Jack. You are such a powerful poet. Thank you Cultural Weekly for sharing this with us.

Jack, I love this poem. It just has a way of grabbing your attention and never letting go. I posted a link to it from my Facebook page. Congratulations.

What an outstanding poem. Jack, you are fantastic and Wendy, for the past few weeks I've been reading your selections and it makes me so happy. I love great poetry and I'm crazy for quality online lit mags. You are an amazing editor.

Jack. You are a master poet, teacher. Thank you for honoring this woman(whom I regrettably am unfamiliar with, but not for long b/c of you)! Since I don't know her work I felt your poem as a testament to relationship and the subtlety off the spaces in between loving. And, of course, it all just keeps pushing on, life, that is. Happy Valentines Day to the whole wide world…Glad you're in it!
Glad this forum exists!

Jack, I love your words, your poetry, thank you. Thank you for highlighting Szymborska of whom I'm ignorant. The only thing better in my mind after reading your poem, a couple of times, is to hear you read it. Love.

The details–the specific details. Thank you for bringing us into your home so we can hear your hearts breaking.

What perfect silence.

I loved this poem when I read it. I emailed you, Jack, I called Lori, and then I googled Szymborska, and read "Possiblities". Loved that, too, so I sent it to some friends.
Now, I'm reading your poem again, reading "Possibilities" again, going to look up, "Cat in an empty apartment", while the beauties parade around hoping for best in show on the "Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show".

Love the lines, “not sure whose turn it was to turn the moment back into words. You need a poet at a time like this." Fortunately we have Jack Grapes at a time like this–a poet's poet, a visionary publisher and editor, and a gifted teacher. He's a master, a bard, and a gentleman. I'd love to read more of his work here at Cultural Weekly.

Jack Grapes captures this moment so well, this moment that is so familiar, I can almost feel the bed, I am snuggled between Jack and Lori, I see what he sees, I feel what they feel.

Thank-you Jack, my teacher, my mentor….with Szymborska's passing we lost one of the greats and you show us how to carry on with dignity and poetry.

What a beautiful gift Jack Grapes has given the world with his tribute to Szymborska. I did not know her before reading his poem; now, I do. Thank you for this gift of her voice and even more, for the gift of Jack Grapes'.

Thank you Jack, and thank you Cultural Weekly for leading with this simple, rich human poem. And when I say simple I mean a thing that is difficult to achieve, simplicity. Kathleen Matson Blurock

Thank You CW, for placing this acknowledgment of Szymborska where such news belongs – up front.
So urgent that we remember the power of poetry when there are no other words of conveyance.

Thank you Jack Grapes, for this remarkable tribute – to bring her alive in this poem, in this way: "Szymborska died"/ "She reached for the remote and shut the tv off./ "What was there to say?"/ "You need a poet/ at a time like this,/and the poet was gone"/ "all that silence."/ "all that love and passion/ all those broken teacups."

It took me to Szymborska's view of the world in 'Reality Demands,' as if you had placed Sher into her own poem: "So much is always going on/ that it must be going on all over"/ "Where Hiroshima was/ it is again"/ "This terrifying world is not devoid of charms/ of the mornings that make/ waking up worthwhile."

I believe she would be deeply touched and pleased.

When I heard Szymborska died, I opened up one of her books at random to "Travel Elegy", which begins:
Everything's mine but just on loan,
nothing for the memory to hold,
though mine as long as I look.

So grateful to have Wislawa and Jack together, here, at Cultural Weekly, showing me how to see the cobwebs and still be willing to get back to a semblance of the world, again and again and again….

Thanks for the beautiful moment Jack. It's such a to see the world through your words. As always!

Dear Jack, Thank you. You introduced Szumborska to me and now you have honored and indelibly memorialized her poetry within your own words and images. Your poem keeps her alive. Your words are flowers on her garve, and add fragrance to her lingering spirit. I am also grateful, comforted and more secure to know both you and Lori protect my back and keep the spiders at bay. Francesca Keck

You make the point so eloquently in the simplest way – life goes on – and in her passing so many more of us learn about and participate in her art. You've made sure of that. Thank you, Jack.

This poem and the sense of loss it so deftly explores, is at turns expansive as the Universe and as finely focused as a small crack in the ceiling, or a tiny cobweb in the corner – the juxtaposition 'overcoming those dualisms that have embarrassed philosophy and replacing them with the monism of the phenomenon.' The infinite revealed through the infinitesimal and brought home. In that, the reader, writer, and subject are brought together. What a piece of work, this thing called poetry can be. So glad to find it here on the cutting edge of culture and as far back as the beginning of time. Thank you.
P.S. Also wanted to acknowledge the excellent work of your poetry editor, Wendy Rainey. Keep her and keep this level of literature as your standard, and your publication will doubtless set the bar aspired to by the rest.

Thanks for writing this very soulful poem Jack, I'm sure Ms Symborska would be pleased. And thanks to Lori for keeping the world safe from spiders.

Jack Grapes is the kind of poet that puts you in the room; on the bed in the middle of their silence looking at a tiny spider and thinking of Szymborksa. So simple and stunning at the same time. Kudos to Publisher's Weekly for recognizing a poet gem like Jack Grapes. May we please have more of him?

You bring us out of isolation and invite us into your bedroom, where we mourn the death of a master as you carry her torch with new words. There is a difference between genius and solid writing. Your work is filled with moments of genius and sheer simplicity. You bring us back to the here and now, celebrating our frailty, our needs, and the love that makes it all bearable. Thank you for all you give to the world, and to your students.

thank you, Jack, for broken teacups and cobwebs that need wiping by the faithful

You did a beautiful job honoring her.The world will feel the loss of another great talent. Thank you Jack

Really beautiful

Many Thanks

Jack, what a wonderful poem. Congratulations.

So beautiful Jack! Szymborska is gone, but thank God we still have you and the breaking teacups! Claire P.

"You need a poet at a time like this and the poet was gone." The poet was not gone, for Jack Grapes was right there on the job, offering testimony to the majesty of poetry and the gift of the poet herself. I was not familiar with Symborska, but I am now. The small town of Allen, Texas, library had two of her books. I checked out "View with a Grain of Sand." The other was already gone. Now, each night before sleeping, I read one of Szymborska's poems – in part to familiarize myself with her work. In part to honor the poet, Jack Grapes, who loved her so.

THANKS JACK FOR AWAKENING ME A NEWFOUND POET. I WAS TILL NOW UNFAMILIAR WITH SZYMBORSKA; AND YOU MADE ME FEEL HER TO THE TIP OF MY TOOTH; BUT THEN THAT IS YOUR GIFT…THANK YOU FOR SHARING IT WITH US ALL. LOVE, LIGHT, LAUGHTER BARA

Thank you Jack for the beautiful poem. How it captures life passing through us.

Dear Jack: A deep and touching tribute to your friend Szymborska and to poetry. What better way to make her present and alive then to say, "It was good to get back to a semblance of the world." Now it is your inheritance to be the voice of poetry. Janice

How very real. Thank you Jack for describing the reality of how we deal with death.

My daughter sent me your poem on Szymborska, Jack. She has taken classes with you in the past, always impressed with the way you help aspiring writers find their natural voice. I sent your poem to six of my friends, readers all, but not necessarily of poetry; however, the response was overwhelming To a person they wrote back about the experience of reading your poem and about their desire to know more of Szymborska, a poet they didn't know, or know well. But mostly, inspired by your poem and her story, to read more poetry–both yours and hers. I think that you have touched a lot of lives with your poem, as Szymborska touched yours.

Pat Kirk