Books

Evening Poetry, March 7

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Lily
by Ron Koertge

No one would take her when Ruth passed.
As the survivors assessed some antiques,
I kept hearing, "She's old. Somebody
should put her down."

I picked her up instead. Every night I tell her
about the fish who died for her, the ones
in the cheerful aluminum cans.

She lies on my chest to sleep, rising
 and falling, rising and falling like a rowboat
fastened to a battered dock by a string.

You can find this poem in Healing the Divide: Poems of Kindness and Connection.

Evening Poetry, March 6

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Wild Swans
by Edna St. Vincent Millay

I looked in my heart while the wild swans went over.
And what did I see I had not seen before?
Only a question less or a question more;
Nothing to match the flight of wild birds flying.
Tiresome heart, forever living and dying,
House without air, I leave you and lock your door.
Wild swans, come over the town, come over
The town again, trailing your legs and crying!

You can find this poem in The Collected Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay.

Evening Poetry, March 5

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A Note Left on the Door
by Mary Oliver

There are these: the blue
skirts of the ocean walking in now, almost
to the edge of town,

and a thousand birds, in their incredible wings
which they think nothing of, crying out

that the day is long, the fish are plentiful.

And friends, being as kind as friends can be,
striving to lift the darkness.

Forgive me, Lord of honeysuckle, of trees,
of notebooks, of typewriters, of music,
that there are also these:

the lover, the singer, the poet
asleep in the shadows.

You can find this poem in Thirst.

Evening Poetry, March 4

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Study the Stone
by Meister Eckhart

Be yourself. And if what this means
is unclear to you, look around at

the things of this earth. Study the stone
which always does what it was made

to do: it doesn't always fall in the
same way, sometimes resting in high

places and at other times finding its
rest where the earth allows it to lie,

but its purpose is to move downward,
and in this the stone loves God in the 

way it can, singing the new song
which God gives each creature and thing--

and also you who read this at times
wonder what to do and how to be.

You can find this poem in Meister Eckhart's Book of the Heart: Meditations for the Restless Soul.

Evening Poetry, March 3

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When We Look
by Annie Lighthart

When we look long at one another,
we soften, we relent, listen,

might forgive. We allow for silence
--and when we see each other,

are known, and in that moment
might change

though nothing has moved
or been spoken.

There are some who say
the walls cannot be broken,

but suddenly we are in a free place,
and the fields

that extend from its center
stretch for miles

as if out of the pupil and the iris
of that momentary kingdom.

You can find this poem in Pax.

Evening Poetry, March 2

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March
by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Like some reformer, who with mien austere,
Neglected dress, and loud insistent tones,
More rasping than the wrongs which she bemoans,
Walks through the land and wearies all who hear,
While yet we know the need of such reform;
So comes unlovely March, with wind and storm,
To break the spell of winter, and set free
The poisoned brooks and crocus beds oppressed.
Severe of face, gaunt-armed, and wildly dressed,
She is not fair nor beautiful to see.
But merry April and sweet smiling May
Come not till March has first prepared the way.

You can find this poem in Poems of Sentiment.

Evening Poetry, March 1

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Dear March — Come in — (poem 1320) 
by Emily Dickinson

Dear March — Come in —
How glad I am —
I hoped for you before —

Put down your Hat —
You must have walked —
How out of Breath you are —
Dear March, Come right up the stairs with me —
I have so much to tell —

I got your Letter, and the Birds —
The Maples never knew that you were coming — till I called
I declare — how Red their Faces grew —
But March, forgive me — and
All those Hills you left for me to Hue —
There was no Purple suitable —
You took it all with you —

Who knocks? That April.
Lock the Door —
I will not be pursued —
He stayed away a Year to call
When I am occupied —
But trifles look so trivial
As soon as you have come

That Blame is just as dear as Praise
And Praise as mere as Blame —

You can find this poem in The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson.

Evening Poetry, February 28

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By William Morris

Late February days; and now, at last,
Might you have thought that
Winter's woe was past;
So fair the sky was and so soft the air.

Find this verse in The Poems of William Morris.

Evening Poetry, February 27

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A Winter Piece
William Cullen Bryant

Come when the rains
Have glazed the snow and clothed the trees with ice,
While the slant sun of February pours
Into the bowers a flood of light. Approach!
The incrusted surface shall upbear thy steps
And the broad arching portals of the grove
Welcome thy entering.

You can find this poem in William Cullen Bryant: Complete Poetical Works.

Evening Poetry, February 26

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Much Ado About Nothing
by William Shakespeare

Why, what's the matter,
That you have such a February face,
So full of frost, of storm and cloudiness?

You can find this poem in Much Ado About Nothing.