I
have wanted to share this piece from Gregory Orr and NPR’s program This I Believe for a long while. A friend of mine brought it to me
because she had found it in the published book of the essays, and she knows how
much poetry means to me. And I
have read it and loved these words often since she brought it. And then poetry
month came along and I had taken the challenge of writing a poem every day, instead
of writing about poetry. So the piece
waited.
 |
Poetry is the
synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits. ~Carl Sandburg
|
Now that it’s glorious spring, and we might all take
a deep breath to smell the flowers better, we may also take the time for other
things, like enjoying what others say about poetry. You may have seen or heard this before, but if so enjoy it again. And if it is new, take it in for the
first time. It is titled The Making
of Poems, and begins with this sentence: I believe in
poetry as a way of surviving the emotional chaos, spiritual confusions and
traumatic events that come with being alive.
Mother’s Day is coming next week, and I like Mother’s Day. My son is flying in with his family and
it will be a good weekend. But
some of us also think of our own mothers. When I buy cards for my daughter and
daughter-in-law, I feel a tinge of sadness because I miss my mother and no longer choose a card just for her. We were close, talked on the phone
often. I often have called this
our very good long-distance relationship because she lived a few states away,
and long phone calls kept our relationship strong. I lately read a poem by Ted Kooser that I love, about a
mother gone. It touched me.
A poem, Mother, by Ted Kooser begins:
Mid April already, and the wild plums
bloom at the roadside, a lacy white
against the exuberant, jubilant green
of new grass and the dusty, fading black
of burned-out ditches.
You may read or listen to the remainder of the
poem here.
Thank you for this poem--I loved the last line of it--
ReplyDelete"Were it not for the way you taught me to look
at the world, to see the life at play in everything,
I would have to be lonely forever."
Even though my mother is still with me, these words resonate....
Yet another perfect poem it reminds me of my grandma and her sand plums.I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day with your children, you so deserve a special day.
ReplyDeleteHappy Mother's Day early!
Tammy
I still have my mother too, but honestly as old as I am I dread the day. When the day does come I will remember this poem and steal a flower from her yard and savor her many intangible gifts.
ReplyDeleteLovely poem, so sweet and sad and hopeful. I love that part about how she asked him if he would be sad when it happened. A conversation they are still having...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poem, Linda! Love the last stanza especially. Kooser is one of my absolute favorites.
ReplyDeleteThe Sandburg quote is one I've posted at my blog too -- love it!
Thanks for the NPR link. Off to read the essay now . . .
Thank you for sharing, Linda. I too am blessed to have my mother still with me, one state away, and yet I teared up at this perfect poem. Wishing you and yours a glorious May! (And thanks for the link, which I'll check out too.)
ReplyDeleteOh my, what a wonderful poem. I gloried in all the garden descriptions, and cried at the last stanza...and I will go out into my garden and look upon the iris with new eyes. Thank you!
ReplyDeletebeautiful poem! the imagery is amazing! thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteMessages of survival, hope and healing.
ReplyDeleteLinda, like everyone else, I loved this poem, and yes, especially the last few lines. I still have my mom, but always feel a little sad on Father's Day, because my dad is gone.
ReplyDeleteI keep on getting confused as to when exactly Mother's day is celebrated. Is it the first Sunday or second Sunday of May? Haha. I enjoyed the poem, Linda. Speaks right to the core. I also loved how you included Sandburg's views on poetry: Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits.
ReplyDeleteI was reminded of the Persian poet, Rumi's own version of what poetry means to him, I posted it this week in one of my FB status updates: "Poems are rough notations for the music we are."
Happy Mother's Day dearest Linda.
OK, this is the third time I'm trying to leave this comment...
ReplyDeleteGregory Orr's piece is perfect. What he says has absolutely been my experience of writing since the Haiti earthquake. It's life-saving to be able to take the chaos of feeling and create something on the page.
Apparently the little goblins that live in the internate ate my last comment...
ReplyDeleteHappy Mother's Day, Linda -- I've really enjoyed reading the poems you have shared about motherhood.
Gah. Internet not internate...
DeleteI never intended to read Orr's whole article, just comment on the lines you quoted. (I need those words so much right now.) Then I followed the link, and how could I NOT read the whole thing? Oh, my. Oh, my. Oh, my.
ReplyDeleteI know that when I come to your blog I will find something touching here. Twice in today's post. Thank you.
ReplyDelete