Thursday, November 14, 2019

Poetry Friday: Maggie Dietz


Another November poem!

I love these lines from Maggie Dietz, wondering if she loved October well enough. I, too, always wonder with the passing of each season if I did it justice, counted my blessings, knew what I had while it was right in front of me.

November
by Maggie Dietz

Show's over, folks. And didn't October do
A bang-up job? Crisp breezes, full-throated cries
Of migrating geese, low-floating coral moon.

Nothing left but fool's gold in the trees.
Did I love it enough, the full-throttle foliage,
While it lasted? Was I dazzled?

(Read the whole poem here, at The Poetry Foundation.)

~~~~~~~~~~


12 comments:

tanita✿davis said...

Och, that's LOVELY.
Do we EVER do a good enough job of rapturously breathing in the cold breeze and appreciating every single yellow leaf?

It is just now the season of leaves falling - our leaf-peeping time is November, not October - and I am going to do my level best to do it all justice. I learned a Dutch word recently - uitwaaien - to blow out, basically to walk in the wind, and blow the cobwebs out of one's head. It's a more useful word to me just now than the usual Danish hegge people - we'll get cozy soon enough. For now, here's to blowing out the cobwebs and appreciating every leaf and bush.

Janice Scully said...

Thank you for sharing this fabulous poem. It's really got me wondering. I love fall so much, but what did I miss?

Linda B said...

I was traveling much of October and had the pleasure of October in various places, all glorious. But, as Maggie Dietz writes, perhaps I missed something? Thanks, Karen. This is wonderful. I love "days throw up a closed sign around four."

Tabatha said...

So great! I'm going to save this to re-read. It feels like it has the makings of a mentor poem :-)

Michelle Heidenrich Barnes said...

Another wonderful selection, Karen! I think I read it once before. (I remember falling in love with "Coughs up reed grass fat as feather dusters.") It's poems like these that make me miss living in state with "proper" seasons. Then again, as you say, maybe I just haven't observed or appreciated the changes in Florida closely enough. Food for thought.

Carol Varsalona said...

Karen, the poem is wonderful. I love noticing and wondering every detail of the lustrous season of autumn with "the full-throttle foliage". I agree with Tabatha that this will be a great mentor poem.

Molly Hogan said...

You share the best poems! I love this one and it has me questioning how much I appreciated my October and reminds me to appreciate November while it's here. Thanks for sharing!

Linda Mitchell said...

Ha! the tone of this poem is fun....such folksy truth there.

Karen Eastlund said...

Thank you for introducing us to this poem and this poet. Beautiful! So much to notice, enjoy, learn...

Karen Eastlund said...

Thank you for introducing us to this poem and this poet. Beautiful! So much to notice, enjoy, learn...

Ruth said...

This one's new to me, and I really like it. Thanks.

Karen Edmisten said...

Tanita, yes! Here's to blowing out the cobwebs. Every time I learn of some amazing Danish word that expresses an inarticulate thought/feeling so succinctly, I want to move to Denmark. But then I remember the winters. :)

Janice, Linda, and Michelle, I think that just wondering if we missed something makes us less likely to miss something tomorrow, don't you?

Tabatha and Carol, I can't wait to read those mentor poems.

Molly, thank you, but I have to deflect the praise to Poets.org and Poetry Foundations -- they have the best poems! :)

LInda, Karen, Ruth -- thank you for taking time to stop by, say hi, and share in the November magic. :)