A childhood note Merrill wrote to Leila "Zelly” Howard, his governess. This note was among the collection of notes and artwork which Howard's daughter sent back to Merrill as a set in 1977, after Zelly died.
In this popular poem, Merrill reminisces about the summer of 1937, waiting for and then working on a jigsaw puzzle with his governess, Zelly, and her teaching him "her languages." "Lost in Translation" is often cited as Merrill's greatest short poem.…