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!
Thank you, Kat, and thanks also to Ellen Bass! I love the lines about walking and “it’s a hard time to be human”, and of course, all the ways to bring more poetry into your life. Happy National Poetry Month!
What a brilliant poem, Kat! (I just love Ellen Bass.) Happy National Poetry Month! XO
This is wonderful! Since the early days of the pandemic, as I’ve spent more time outside, I’ve really felt that pull of everything. It’s both humbling and awe-inspiring, and this poem captures it perfectly.
Love, love, love the idea of the earth falling toward the apple! Brilliant, I am not familiar with Ellen Bass, but I intend to get to know her poetry. Thank you Kat!
A lovely poem with beautiful imagery, especially the bit about the boy on the bike. Thank you.
It IS overwhelming to think that everything here needs us – yikes! and I love how Bass framed this idea and took us on a walk with her. Thank you for sharing this! I’m excited to see what else you have up your sleeve for the month 🙂
We are lucky when we feel needed and my heart breaks for all the people who do not feel needed. I loved the poem and never heard of the poet!
I love the beginning of this poem, that is, “the ancient prayer of my arms swinging . . .” The way poets see things in a new way never ceases to amaze me.