IX - Poems

Emerson always thought of himself as a poet, and he found that as he prepared lectures and essays for publication, his work was often interrupted by the urge to write a poem. In some cases, such as the justly famous "Threnody," a poem emerged from a tragic event, like the death of his son Waldo, Jr. But in most cases, Nature was the inspiration. One of his final poems, "Terminus" reflects what he saw as the lessening of his creative powers. It is, in many ways, the most moving of all his poems.