James Salter

a poem

I know you learn the right thing when it’s the right time…
but I feel I’ve missed out.
While I’m glad I knew Beckett,
and Hemingway was an inspiration,
and D.Foster Wallace was a revelation,
on top of the many must-knows who came before;
no one bothered to tell me to read
these lines,
each one
light years beyond
what passes for
language.