The Spirit of the Staircase

“what you have to do as a writer: write day in and day out no matter what happens”

—William Stafford

Telling the truth as I saw it,

I became persona non grata:

The world's enormous certainties

Had no desire for those verities,

Threatening their insipidities.

Hence for forty wilderness years,

I threshed out learnèd others' words,

Winnowing clunkiness for pay.

I'd have it, the staircase spirit

Claims, no fondly celebrated way.

Obscurity in light of day

Is the best refuge from the fate

World loves to dish out to the great,

Rending its darlings in full flight.

Despite what happens, thus, I write.

It helps me pass the time of night.

Epigraph source: William Stafford interviewed by William Young, Paris Review 35 (Winter 1993).

Friday, December 5, 2025