A poet is one who says, beautifully, the things that we all think, mundanely, and are embarrassed to put into words.

Ode to the Maker of Odes reminds me of the brief moment I spent visiting with Arthur C. Clarke, and that instant in which we clasped one another’s right hand, and looked in each other’s eyes.

And, yes, I gave him a small toy as I left, and have wondered often what became of it.