Care of the Soul named in Lynn Levin's poem

Lynn Levin references Thomas Moore’s Care of the Soul in a poem, “The Span Worm Moth,” published in her collection, Imaginarium (2005). In her review of this book, Maggie Paul suggests,

"The Span Worm Moth" is a poem that contains some of Levin’s finest artistry, illustrating her humor and ability to encapsulate both the unspoken ruptures and affections of a married couple while engaged in the common act of cleaning out their third-floor study. The sensitive speaker in "The Span-Worm Moth" guiltily watches the wings of a moth beat in the threads of a spider web, while her partner confesses to being in a "throwing-out mode." He proceeds to discard a copy of Thomas Moore’s Care of the Soul, whose title in the speaker’s opinion could just as well pertain to "an embalming / manual or a how-to you might want to read / while waiting in your open coffin / for the relatives to arrive," as it does to a "Guide to Cultivating Depth / and Sacredness in Everyday Life." "As if existence / were not pointless," the speaker comments in a cynical tone, then ventures, "or maybe / Moore suspected it was and so had to invent / a reason for it." After admitting she would never savor "The Book Lover’s / Calendar" on a pillow next to her partner, and mocking his insistence that smart people write smart books "so few will ever read," the speaker frees the moth from its prison and the couple throw off their clothes. Love prevails despite differences; the primal freedom of union overrides the couple’s intellectual and emotional gulf.”

Levin’s poetry is published byLoonfeather Press in Bemidji, Minnesota.