by Kat | 2 days ago | General, Poetry
Welcome to Week Three of National Poetry Month! This week our theme is Color… and I was so excited about that!
When I think of color and poetry, one beloved poet comes to my mind, Derek Walcott. I know of no other poet who has the thread of color weaving through so many of his poems and I have immersed myself deeply in his works… I don’t ever need an excuse to read any of his poetry, but a deep dive into his expansive works is always treat!
The poem I have selected today is from Walcott’s White Egrets, a book which contains a plethora of color-infused poems. The vivid picture he draws me into in this one is one I’d like to linger in. You will find more about Derek Walcott here.
53.
by Derek Walcott
The hulls of white yachts riding the orange water
of the marina at dusk, and, under their bowsprits, the chuckle
of the chain in the stained sea; try to get there
before a green light winks from the mast, the fo’c’s’le
blazes with glare, while dusk hangs in suspension
with crosstrees and ropes and lilac-livid sky,
with its beer stein of cloud-froth touched by the sun,
as stars come out to watch the evening die.
In this orange hour the light reads like Dante,
three lines at a time, their symmetrical tension,
quiet bars rippling from the Paradiso
as a dingy writes lines made by the scanty
metro of its oar strokes, and we, so
mesmerized, can barely talk. Happier
than any man now is the one who sits drinking
wine with his lifelong companion under the winking
stars and the steady arc lap at the end of the pier.
White Egrets, 53. Copyright © 2010 by Derek Walcott.
Make sure you stop and see what color Kym, Bonny, and Sarah have to infuse your day with!
Photo by Maria Kamitsi
by Kat | Apr 6, 2023 | General, Poetry
Welcome to my favorite month of the entire year… National Poetry Month!
As usual… Kym, Bonny, Sarah, and myself will be sharing some poetry with you this month on Thursday’s.
Before I share my poem for today, I thought I’d give you some ideas of how you can add more poetry to your April days! You will find a treasure trove of resources here… including getting a Poem-A-Day emailed to you. This month they will all be curated by Ada Limón, Poet Laureate. Want more… you will find 30 ideas here to bring more poetry to your April!
Today, each of us will be sharing a poem around the idea of wonder… I read a good deal of poetry and considered a number of different poems, but ultimately I picked a poem by Ellen Bass. She is a favorite poet of mine… she is easy to read and her poems really hit home for me. This poem starts with Rilke (who I just can’t get enough of!) and from there, she shares the wonder of us… she makes it personal…intimate for the reader… me and you …in the most incredible way.
The World Has Need of You
by Ellen Bass
…everything here seems to need us…
—Rilke
I can hardly imagine it
as I walk to the lighthouse, feeling the ancient
prayer of my arms swinging
in counterpoint to my feet.
Here I am, suspended
between the sidewalk and twilight,
the sky dimming so fast it seems alive.
What if you felt the invisible
tug between you and everything?
A boy on a bicycle rides by,
his white shirt open, flaring
behind him like wings.
It’s a hard time to be human. We know too much
and too little. Does the breeze need us?
The cliffs? The gulls?
If you’ve managed to do one good thing,
the ocean doesn’t care.
But when Newton’s apple fell toward the earth,
the earth, ever so slightly, fell
toward the apple as well.
The World Has Need of You © Ellen Bass
If you want to learn more about Ellen Bass and her poetry… look here, and here.
And be sure to stop by to see what Kym, Bonny, and Sarah have shared today!
