Poetry Friday - found treasure

        All the Poetry Friday Links can be found at Tricia Stohr-Hunt's blog, The Miss Rumphius Effect. Thanks for hosting today at the last minute Tricia.

                    "Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits."  Carl Sandburg

       I visited a favorite used bookstore last Saturday, and found a prize, an early collection of poems by Naomi Shihab Nye, 1986. The sales ticket left in the book is from Pittsburg, PA. The cost was $4.00. I paid more for it used! While I have nearly all of Naomi Nye's children's poetry anthologies, I haven't read very many of her adult poems, mostly when others share. This particular book is her third, and reviews say it shows a more mature poet, one examining themes of loss, particularly in her growing concern for middle east problems. 
      Interestingly, one of the poems that touched me is titled Jerusalem, but when I searched for it online, I found another poem with the same title. 

The poem in this book begins:

    Two girls danced, red flames winding.
     I offered my shoes to the gypsies,
     threw back my head and yelled.  


It captures a scene where a trade of shoes for drums occurs, an experience, perhaps of the poet, perhaps a story she heard, or created?  Writing of gypsies coming in the night, a middle stanza says:

       To live without roads seemed one way
        not to get lost.  To make maps
        of stone and grass, to rub stars together
        and find a spark.

            I thought it simple lovely, was sad I couldn't find a link for you to read the rest, and hope you can find it. The other, later one, can be found here.

        Another favorite is Trying To Name What Doesn’t Change. It begins:

Roselva says the only thing that doesn't change
is train tracks. She's sure of it.
The train changes, or the weeds that grow up spidery
by the side, but not the tracks.
I've watched one for three years, she says,
and it doesn't curve, doesn't break, doesn't grow.

and the rest is here.

          One other that I found interesting is Office 337, Wheeler Hall, Berkeley, and the bonus is that I found a link to Naomi reading it. 
              It begins: I live in a room of abandoned things,
              typewriters with jammed ribbons,
              clocks that won't wind.
              Shelves of books inscribed,
              "To Clark, with respect and good wishes."
              Clark has moved to another building
               without them.                                          

           You can hear Naomi read here.  This particular recording is a discovery for me, and perhaps something new for some of you. Here is the link for more of Naomi's poems from this one poetry reading. It is from the archives of what is called The Elliston Project: Poetry Readings and Lectures at the University of Cincinnati. Their Home Page is here. You may find a favorite poet here too.

          Finally, don't forget that you have until the 15th to nominate a favorite children's book, poetry and more, for the Cybil's awards. Find that link here!