Poetry

(De rerum natura)
Book IV: Proem
Titus Lucretius Carus (c. 98-55 B.C.)
tr. William Ellery Leonard

I wander afield, thriving in sturdy thought,
Through unpathed haunts of the Pierides,
Trodden by step of none before. I joy
To come on undefiled fountains there,
To drain them deep; I joy to pluck new flowers,

THE SECOND COMING
William Butler Yeats

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

1860, #162,

Emily Dickinson

Some Rainbow -- coming from the Fair!
Some Vision of the World Cashmere --
I confidently see!
Or else a Peacock's purple Train
Feather by feather -- on the plain
Fritters itself away!

The dreamy Butterflies bestir!
Lethargic pools resume the whir
Of last year's sundered tune!
From some old Fortress on the sun
Baronial Bees -- march -- one by one --
In murmuring platoon!

The Robins stand as thick today

Just spent an hour of my day awaiting the ascension of Pope Francis I - a kindly man, to judge by his eyes. For the sake of believers, I'm glad of the choice. But then, what poem to choose for the day? Why, who else than that Pope of Poets, Alexander? And what other poem than one celebrating the classic clerical tragedy of Abelard and Eloise. Now, I didn't read the thing all the way through , but here's the nut of the thing. And a link to the whole, should you have another hour or two to spend in the 18th Century. Read more about Pope Pouri

March: An Ode
Algernon Charles Swinburne

I
Ere frost-flower and snow-blossom faded and fell, and the splendour of winter had passed out of sight,
The ways of the woodlands were fairer and stranger than dreams that fulfil us in sleep with delight;
The breath of the mouths of the winds had hardened on tree-tops and branches that glittered and swayed

a woman I met at breakfast at the Sylvia last week said she loved Mary Oliver. When I told her I had brought a volume of Oliver's poetry with me, she wanted to know if I had a copy of this poem. It wasn't in the collection I brought with me, which was , so I wanted to post it for her here, in case she's ever listening.

The Summer Day
by Mary Oliver

Who made the world?

Valentine's Day dawns tomorrow, and with it, my birthday. These days I love the sunrise, these days I am eager for the day to begin, to rise and take up where I left off. But I remember days when sunrise was not so welcome, when I did not want to get out of bed, because the things I had to do were not the things I loved, or there were tasks I dreaded to take up, and, every once in a while, because there was a lover beside me whom I did not want to leave.

The Sun Rising

Even those of us in the land of rain begin to think that a little sun wouldn't hurt that much.

Loud are the thunder drums in the tents of the mountains.
Oh, long, long
Have we eaten chia seeds
and dried deer's flesh of the summer killing.
We are tired of our huts
and the smoky smell of our clothing.
We are sick with the desire for the sun
And the grass on the mountain.

- Paiute Late Winter Song* Read more about Long About Now

William

Now there’s William. He comes
Pecking like a bird, at my
Heart. His eyebrows are like the
Feathers of a wren. His ears are
Little seashells.
I would keep him always in my
Mind’s eye…
Whatever he does, he’ll want
The world to do it in. Maybe,
Who knows, he’ll want this very
Room which, only for convenience,
I realize, I’ve been
Calling mine.
I feel myself begin to wilt, like
An old flower, weak in the stem.
But he is irresistible! Whatever
He wants of mine-my room,

Ronald Reagan's inaugural Morning in America did not come with a poem. Which explains a lot, if you ask me. Read more about Mornings in America