Lost in Translation (poem) the key clue here. The four lines come from that "lost" German translation by Rilke of Valéry's "Palme". (Merrill's own English translation of "Palme" is the source of the translated quatrain above. See Merrill's "Paul Valéry: "Palme"" in "Late Settings", 1985.) The original in French: from Paul Valéry, Charmes (1922) Palme classical dizain 7th Stanza The solution to the puzzle of the poem is hidden in plain sight all along. "Nothing's lost", Merrill suggests, when it comes to translating experience or memory, at least according to the way Merrill understands our human experience. The poem's coda salutes the power of
Sapphic stanza in Polish poetry życia i zdrowia J. K. Mości" ("Annual song for the day of rescuing life and health of His Majesty, the King"). He also employed it in the poem "Piesek" ("A little dog"). Franciszek Karpiński made use of the analysed form in "Psalm 8. O wielkości Boga" ("Psalm 8. On God's grandeur"). He repeated it in the "Psalmu 64 część. O opatrzności" ("Part of Psalm 64. On Providence") and in the poem "Pieśń do świętych Polaków, patronów Polski" ("Hymn to the holy Poles, patrons of Poland"). Another poet, Franciszek Dionizy Kniaźnin used Sappho's stanza very frequently. Another example of Sapphic stanza