In the beginning my beginning hummed with the sound of a thousand other beginnings. Now, when I say light, I stare away from sun & into your body. If I am to be in possession of anything, I want it to be my state of witness. How difficult to see the consanguinity of rivers, one […]
Poetry
Posted inArts & Culture, Poetry
The Burning Ladder
Jacobnever climbed the ladderburning in his dream. Sleeppressed him like a stonein the dust,and whenhe should have risenlike a flame to jointhat choir, he was sickof traveling,and closedhis eyes to the Seraphimascending, unconsciousof the impossible distancesbetween their steps,missedthem mount the
Posted inFaith, Poetry
If the environmental encyclical didn’t change your heart or mind, maybe poetry can.
Like Pope Francis, Oliver’s poetry invites readers to let the distractions of our modern, constant motion, hyper-stimulated world fall away from time to time, to enter into that quiet place of contemplation and gratitude that waits in the world all around us.
Posted inArts & Culture, Poetry
Ignored Woodwork in Old Churches
I want to know what kind of wood
and how the hinges will convert the seat
into a stall where a monk can stand for a while
Posted inFaith, Vantage Point
How To Read an Encyclical: From May 18, 1963
A poem for ‘Mater et Magistra’
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
The Everyday Poet
William Carlos Williams rejected the poetic conventions of the time in favor of a distinctly American verse.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Mary Oliver’s Good News
Mary Oliver reminds us of the mystery and necessity of poetry.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Surprised by Joy
For the reader whose misfortune it is not to have yet discovered Kelly Cherry’s poems , this is your lucky day. Cherry’s new book offers a generous sampling of the poet’s work, culled from six previous volumes.
Posted inArts & Culture, Poetry
On Cleaning Out a Friend’s Refrigerator After His Exile to the Old Priests’ Home
First thought: man, no wonder he was so skinny.