Tag Archives: Poetry

all winter long

Posted on March 5, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

THE END OF THE LIBRARY Weldon Kees When the coal Gave out, we began Burning the books, one by one; First the set Of Bulwer-Lytton And then the Walter Scott. They gave a lot of warmth. Toward the end, in … Continue reading →

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I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

When Death Comes When death comes like the hungry bear in autumn; when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse to buy me, and snaps the purse shut; when death comes like the measle-pox; when death … Continue reading →

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Hope Lines

Posted on February 12, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Philadelphia can be a difficult place to live even in the best of times. Although it can be a wonderful destination for visitors, America’s “cradle of liberty” also suffers from one of the nation’s worst poverty rates and has been … Continue reading →

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Because we love watching the flock’s precision glide

Posted on February 3, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Artist Kate Sweeney turned  the poem “Murmuration” by Linda France (below)into a profound and heartfelt animated short film. Created for the 2020 Durham Book Festival, the timely work will surely resonate during this trying period for all of us. MURMURATION … Continue reading →

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The Hill We Climb

Posted on January 23, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Amanda Gorman became the youngest person to deliver a poem at a U.S. presidential inauguration, with the 22-year-old reciting her poem “The Hill We Climb” after Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in as president and vice president. For many viewers, the highlight of the presidential … Continue reading →

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across those borders where only teachers travel

Posted on January 16, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

WOODWORK Bill Manhire Children are building their teacher a coffin. There it is in the paper, somewhere in Holland, a good plain coffin made of many parts, and two of the children call each day and talk to the teacher … Continue reading →

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may you elude the hook of despair

Posted on January 9, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

 

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untouched and still possible

Posted on January 1, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

To the New Year BY W. S. MERWIN With what stillness at last you appear in the valley your first sunlight reaching down to touch the tips of a few high leaves that do not stir as though they had not … Continue reading →

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like a downhill brakes-burned freight train

Posted on December 17, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

AND STILL IT COMES Thomas Lux like a downhill brakes-burned freight train full of pig iron ingots, full of lead life-size statues of Richard Nixon, like an avalanche of smoke and black fog lashed by bent pins, the broken-off tips … Continue reading →

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the gods wait to delight in you

Posted on December 11, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

It should come as no surprise to any one that the poet Charles Bukowski was an inspiration and muse for the great Tom Waits. I am always moved by the short Bukowski poem “The Laughing Heart” so I love the … Continue reading →

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