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
Spenserian stanza Spenserian stanza The Spenserian stanza is a fixed verse form invented by Edmund Spenser for his epic poem "The Faerie Queene" (1590–96). Each stanza contains nine lines in total: eight lines in iambic pentameter followed by a single 'alexandrine' line in iambic hexameter. The rhyme scheme of these lines is ABABBCBCC. This example is the first stanza from Spenser's "Faerie Queene". The formatting, wherein all lines but the first and last are indented, is the same as in contemporary printed editions. <poem> Lo I the man, whose Muse whilome did maske, Fierce warres and faithfull loues shall moralize my song.