Word: compassion
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...COMPASS FLOWER...
...bulk of The Compass Flower seems too serene to rid itself of fatigued images ("autumn leaves," "salt of the earth") or to prove that its serenity has been earned by struggle. Many Western ears will find it hard to tell whether Merwin is being vatic or phatic...
...captain since June, Georgios Papadopoulos, 43, admitted at a hearing last week that his ship carried no LORAN (long-range navigation) equipment. His gyrocompass, he said, was not being used just prior to the accident because it was six degrees off, and the helmsman was steering by magnetic compass. He himself had not had an accurate fix on his position for more than 15 hours. Even if he had known his position, he might still have been in trouble. The water current charts he was using were November's, not December's, an important difference...
...starter says softly, and we tear up the trail at top speed, map in one hand, compass in the other. The trail goes dead north, then begins to curve east. Suddenly another trail appears, this one not marked on the map. We are tempted, but keep going. Another hundred meters and we pause, kneel down and take a compass bearing directly into the woods. Now we are sprinting, leaping over logs, crashing through small brush, legs and arms flailing. We try to pace a 200-meter leg but fail, losing the count at the bottom of a hill where...
...stop for another compass bearing; the needle takes an agonizingly long time to settle, then finally points north. We sight through the trees 45° where our hill−and the checkpoint−should be. No hill. Trusting the compass, we dash off again, leap a fallen birch, catch a sapling in the face. Still no hill. We stop, listen. Nothing but our pounding hearts and labored panting. Retrace our steps and go back to the swamp? No, we'll crash blindly ahead on our bearing. Now the ground begins to rise: a hill. We sprint up it. Suddenly...