POEM
Adam Means Earth*
I am the man
Whose name is mud
But what’s in a name
To shame one who knows
Mud does not stain
Clay he’s made of
Dust Adam became—
The dust he was—
Was he his name
FOOTNOTES: *From Adamah, ‘earth’ in Hebrew.
Samuel Menashe, “Adam Means Earth” from Samuel Menashe: New and Selected Poems, edited by Christopher Ricks, published by The Library of America, 2005. Copyright © 2004 by Samuel Menashe. Used by permission of the author.
Source: Samuel Menashe: New and Selected Poems (The Library of America, 2005)
