pThe title, and to some extent, the thematics of this book, is based on the volume's epigraph, a sentence of Geoffrey Hartman's The sacred has so inscribed itself in language that while it must be interpreted, it cannot be removed. I explore this sense of inscription and trace as it relates to poetry, especially with respect to aspects of Judaic thought and Buddhist influences, the poetics of Walter Benjamin and Heidegger, in relation to a number of the Objectivist poets Oppen, Reznikoff and Rakosi, the Israeli poet, Hyam Bialik, Wallace Stevens, H.D., Robert Duncan and Allen Grossman.ppThe writings constitute a continuation of the interests and themes developed in my poetry and in my three previous essay collections, mainly reflections that focus primarily on poetic language among the poets whom I have referenced and thinkers who throughout their work have been concerned with the relationship of language to religious and spiritual traditions and to the questions of uncertainty and poe