Friday, September 07, 2018

Poetry Friday: Credo, by Alfred Kreymborg


From one of the (new poet to me -- do you know him?) earlier adopters of free verse, Alfred Kreymborg (1883 - 1966). This one really spoke to me this week!


Credo
  by Alfred Kreymborg

I sing the will to love:
the will that carves the will to live,
the will that saps the will to hurt,
the will that kills the will to die;
the will that made and keeps you warm,
the will that points your eyes ahead,
the will that makes you give, not get,
a give and get that tell us what you are:
how much a god, how much a human.
I call on you to live the will to love.

(This poem is in the public domain.)

~~~~~~~~~~ 

The Poetry Friday roundup is at Carol Varsalona's Beyond LiteracyLink.

10 comments:

jama said...

Wow, this poet is new to me too. Thanks for sharing, very inspiring. :)

Linda B said...

I do not know him, either. It's a tiny sermon & heartfelt. Thanks, Karen.

tanita✿davis said...

Wow, this could be taught alongside Invictus for kind of a compare/contrast about statements. I "lost" another poem (can't remember if it's a Jane Kenyon or what) that says something about the hour at the end of day that shows a person's character when they're weary and still able to summon that indomitable will -- someday I'll find it -- but it would work with this, too. Thanks for continuing to find gems in the public domain! I am always alarmed by what we lose, in poetry, if we don't keep trying to bring it to light and share it.

Brenda at FriendlyFairyTales said...

That is a thoughtful poem, and the poet is new to me. Where did you find it?

Karen Edmisten said...

Jama, my pleasure! So glad you liked it, too!

Linda, you're welcome! Thanks for stopping by.

Tanita, I love those pairing ideas! I love Jane Kenyon's work, too. And I have to credit Poets.org for helping me find many gems that are in the public domain.

Brenda, I found it at Poets.org. You can see it here.

Linda Mitchell said...

It IS a tiny sermon....and could become a meditation to repeat. Love wins!

Carol Varsalona said...

Karen, this is quite an interesting poem and I think it would work well in HS classrooms where students could read this and create their own credo after analyzing the poem. I think I will share it with the teachers I am working with this year. Maybe they even have other pieces of literature they could pair this poem with. Thanks for sharing it.

Karen Edmisten said...

Linda, yes! I love the last line: "I call on you to live the will to love."

Carol, I love the idea of students creating their own credo!

Kay said...

Yes, this is an important poem for these days. I, too, love that last line. And thank you for introducing me to a new-to-me-too poet.

Karen Edmisten said...

Hi, Kay -- glad you liked it, and thanks for stopping by!