15. Gestorben

Miller Williams, a poet who championed the power of everyday language and who delivered a poem at the Capitol for President Bill Clinton’s second inauguration, died on Thursday in Fayetteville, Ark. He was 84.

(…) The father of the singer and songwriter Lucinda Williams, he would occasionally share the stage with her, reading his poetry between her songs.

Tall and thin, Mr. Williams was also economical of speech, but he loved to tell stories. He was admired in literary circles for his direct, plain-spoken style. (…)

Have compassion for everyone you meet,
even if they don’t want it. What seems conceit,
bad manners, or cynicism is always a sign
of things no ears have heard, no eyes have seen.
You do not know what wars are going on
down there where the spirit meets the bone./ New York Times 2.1.