January 28, 2009 — In Memory of John Updike

Hooks Book Events acknowledges the passing of John Updike with this offering, “Requiem,” from his forthcoming collection, “Endpoint and Other Poems,” as shared in today’s Opinion section of the New York Times.

Requiem, by John Updike
Were I to die, no one would say,
“Oh, what a shame! So young, so full
Of promise — depths unplumbable!”
Instead, a shrug and tearless eyes
Will greet my overdue demise;
The wide response will be, I know,
“I thought he died a while ago.”
For life’s a shabby subterfuge,
And death is real, and dark, and huge.
The shock of it will register
Nowhere but where it will occur.