Poems For These Times
Peace in the Midst of No Peace
The 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center is this weekend. There will be many reflections and many retrospectives from many different points of view. I’m offering the perspective of American poet, environmental activist, and farmer, Wendell Berry. The Peace of Wild Things was written in 1968, as turbulent a […]
Gone Fishin’
Gone fishin’, metaphorically. The day I woulda-coulda-shoulda been writing today’s post, I hit a wall. The wall miraculously dissolved on its own, and I’m grateful. But I needed to take a break and re-group. Today’s Resources for Recovering Resilience will post tomorrow, with the reasons why. In the meantime, I’m posting two of my favorite […]
When This Is Over…
I first posted When This Is Over a full year ago, at the very beginning of the pandemic shutdown. As at least some of the areas of the world are re-opening to kids playing baseball outdoors, museums opening, friends hugging when vaccinated, the sentiments and intentions of the poem are as relevant as ever. May […]
Perhaps the World Ends Here…
April is National Poetry Month in the U.S. I have posted so many poems during this last pandemic year [see Poems for These Times], knowing that poetry is “fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something As necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry. Yes, indeed.” – Mary Oliver. Our current […]
Earthrise – Amanda Gorman
I realized I had to forward this poem to you for Earth Day the moment it arrived in my inbox. Another magnificent right-on inspiration from our youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman. An environmental movement of this size Is simply another form of an earth-rise. Enjoy…and engage. Earthrise Dedicated to Al Gore and The Climate Reality […]
Poems When It’s Still Dark Before the Dawn
It is difficult to get the news from poems, yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there. – William Carlos Williams Poetry is a life-cherishing force. For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as bread in […]
A Blessing For One Who is Exhausted – a poem of refuge and renewal
My Gourmet Poets Society meets monthly now by Zoom, often sharing poems by the great Irish poet John O’Donohue from his collection To Bless the Space Between Us. Here’s his blessing For One Who Is Exhausted. Timely in its relevance, its wisdom, and its hope. For One Who Is Exhausted When the rhythm of the […]
In This Place – Another Timely Offering from Amanda Gorman
This poem by our Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman showed up in my inbox from Larry Robinson at the very moment I was creating the post Poetry Trumps Politics. For the timing and the truth of it, I’m delighted to pass it on to you. In This Place (An American Lyric) There’s a poem in this […]
Poetry Trumps Politics
Just as hope can be more powerful than heartache, and truth triumph over lies and deception, poetry can stir the heart and inspire a nation far more than political tirades and buzz words. By the time you read this, Joe Biden will have been inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States and Kamala […]
New Year’s Blessing – Belated but Wise and Timely
I learned of this New Year’s Blessing by Larry Robinson the day after New Year’s. It holds the many contradictions and heartaches of 2020 with wisdom and grace. May it enlighten and inspire. New Year’s Blessing By Larry Robinson A year of loss and chaos draws to a close. Stories from a thousand cultures remind […]