Poetry Friday: Jane Hirshfield

I came across this piece — Spiritual Poetry: 22 poems about spirituality and enlightenment— by Jane Hirshfield and got lost in it. She groups the poems into categories, "gates" that she calls, "points of entry into spiritual life." 

Her gates: 

• Permeability 
• The Great Yes 
• Issa's Cricket 
• Horace's Zen 
• Four Poets, One Theme: Spiritual Residence 
• Four Poets, One Theme: Abundance 
• Longing 
• Spiritual Dialogue 
• Realization 

She includes an expanse of poets from such varying times, places, and spaces that the result is a feeling of being in the room and sharing your sturdy and fragile humanity with the most interesting people you know. 

Here's an example of one of the poems she chose to convey "Abundance":

Of all that God has shown me

I can speak just the smallest word,

Not more than a honey bee

Takes on his foot

From an overspilling jar. 

    ~ Mechtild of Magdeburg (13th century) [translated by Jane Hirshfield]

Enjoy getting lost with me as you wander in and out of Hirshfield's gates. 

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Michelle Kogan has the roundup today. 

Photo courtesy of Daria-Yakovleva at Pixabay. 

Poetry Friday: Congratulations to Marvelous Mary Lee!

Mary Lee Hahn is retiring and the whole Poetry Friday-o-sphere is congratulating, celebrating, and honoring this queen among poets, teachers, and PF schedulers/organizers. 

I've known Mary Lee online for a longish time. I think I started participating in Poetry Friday in 2006 or 2007, and I'm sure I "met" her early on. We've never met in person, but I've visited her online home so many times that I know I can kick off my shoes when I'm visiting and spending time with this kindred spirit. 

In honor of Marvelous Mary Lee, I'm sharing a few haiku that I wrote for her. Congratulations, friend, on a marvelous career. May retirement bring you new poetic joys! 

~~~~~~~~~~

Poet Mary Lee: 

a teacher, mentor, and friend,

crafter of wordscapes. 

An original. 

Empathy and compassion, 

evident always. 

Scheduler for all. 

So kind when I am tardy 

for PF sign-up. 

Mary Lee retire? 

Congratulations, but please ... 

don't go far away? 

~~~~~~~~~~

Wander over to Wondering and Wandering, where Christie is hosting the roundup this week. 

Poetry Friday: Hope is the thing with feathers

Light beginning to dawn 

after the long night of Covid. 

Family fully vaxxed. 

I still gasp at this truth. 

Daughters seeing their grandparents.

Me, seeing my parents, 

alive and walking and talking, 

after Covid maimed and 

nearly claimed them. 

Recovery. Light. Daybreak. 

Creation. 

It's been an outlandish year, 

unquestionably.  

But also a bizarre few years. 

It's all just life, yes. 

Still, life leaves its mark. 

One thing 

after another

after another 

after another 

has changed me, affected me, 

silenced me, touched me, 

spoken to me. 

As a writer, a poet, 

a human, a mother, a wife, 

friend, sister, aunt. 

Dawn returns, that's an eternal truth. 

Beginnings. 

A time to stretch 

and reclaim what's been lost.

 And now it's time for Emily. 

Hope is the thing with feathers 

by Emily Dickinson 

Hope is the thing with feathers - 

That perches in the soul - 

And sings the tune without the words - 

And never stops - at all - 

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard - 

And sore must be the storm - 

That could abash the little Bird 

That kept so many warm - 

I’ve heard it in the chillest land - 

And on the strangest Sea - 

Yet - never - in Extremity, 

It asked a crumb - of me.

(This poem is in the public domain.) 

~~~~~~~~~~

The Poetry Friday round-up today is being hosted by the incomparable Irene Latham, at Live Your Poem. 

Photo thanks to fokustier at Pixabay.