Tag Archives: National Poetry Month

All night I dreamt of bonfires

Sharks in the Rivers Ada Limón We’ll say unbelievable things to each other in the early morning— our blue coming up from our roots, our water rising in our extraordinary limbs. All night I dreamt of bonfires and burn piles … Continue reading

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Good Books

Good books are friendly things to own. If you are busy they will wait. They will not call you on the phone Or wake you if the hour is late. They stand together row by row, Upon the low shelf … Continue reading

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Calmly we walk through this April’s day

CALMLY WE WALK THROUGH THIS APRIL’S DAY Delmore Schwartz Calmly we walk through this April’s day, Metropolitan poetry here and there, In the park sit pauper and rentier, The screaming children, the motor-car Fugitive about us, running away, Between the worker … Continue reading

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Be angry at the sun for setting

BE ANGRY AT THE SUN Robinson Jeffers That public men publish falsehoods Is nothing new. That America must accept Like the historical republics corruption and empire Has been known for years. Be angry at the sun for setting If these … Continue reading

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your secret belief in perpetual spring

IN PERPETUAL SPRING Amy Gerstler Gardens are also good places to sulk. You pass beds of spiky voodoo lilies and trip over the roots of a sweet gum tree, in search of medieval plants whose leaves, when they drop off … Continue reading

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like a shadow or a friend

KINDNESS by Naomi Shihab Nye Before you know what kindness really is you must lose things, feel the future dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth. What you held in your hand, what you counted and carefully … Continue reading

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Perhaps the world ends here

Perhaps the World Ends Here Joy Harjo The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live. The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on the table. So it has been since creation, … Continue reading

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Hey, It’s National Poetry Month

Just Beyond Yourself David Whyte Just beyond yourself. It’s where you need to be. Half a step into self-forgetting and the rest restored by what you’ll meet. There is a road always beckoning. When you see the two sides of … Continue reading

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My First Memory of Librarians

A last tribute to libraries and librarians for National Library Week from the brilliant Nikki Giovanni. MY FIRST MEMORY (OF LIBRARIANS) This is my first memory: A big room with heavy wooden tables that sat on a creaky wood floor … Continue reading

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Pity the Nation

April is National Poetry Month in the United States. I can think of no one better than America’s greatest living poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti to mark the occasion. “Pity the Nation”, which was written in 2007, is especially appropriate in the … Continue reading

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