Thom Gunn possesses the poetic gift of an ego open to Self, as [Selected Poems] demonstrates. From the start he found nonce symbols in wound, wind, lighthouse, or looking glass to embody his inner experiences. Both in technique and approach he appeared a traditionalist, but his inspiration and language marked him an original speaker: "I was myself: subject to no man's breath." The familiar matter of "Tamer and Hawk" becomes another experience when we hear the hawk tell us:

                I thought I was so tough,
                But gentled at your hands,
                Cannot be quick enough
                To fly for you and show
                That when I go I go
                At your commands.

Yet the poem does not present a romantic identification of the poet and the bird, rather the hawk represents the ego's true relationship to the Self: "The habit of your words/Has hooded me." The poem concludes with an...