“Himself let him unknown contain”

By Tom Clark b. 1941 Tom Clark

Wyatt, with no insurance on his own head,

watching the execution of Anne Boleyn

from his cell in the Tower, while beyond

on Tower Hill her lovers also are executed,

reflects upon his wasted virtue and now

redundant innocence, rueful he ever did

let his name be known beyond the door of

his soul or hung his star from fate thrones.

Tom Clark, “ ‘Himself let him unknown contain’ ” from Light and Shade: New and Selected Poems. Copyright � 2006 by Tom Clark. Used with the
permission of Coffee House Press, www.coffeehousepress.org.

Source: Sleepwalker�s Fate: New and Selected Poems (1992)

Biography

Tom Clark has combined the diverse roles of poet, biographer, novelist, dramatist, reviewer, and sportswriter during his writing career. In addition to dozens of books of poetry, a play, two novels, two story collections, and numerous biographies of literary figures, Clark's works include a book co-written with star baseball pitcher Mark Fidrych, poems about such sports legends as Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue and Bert Campaneris, . . .

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