Poetry Friday: In Heaven It is Always Autumn

"In Heaven It is Always Autumn," how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. 

First, I love thee because any poem that links autumn and heaven is intrinsically right and just. 

Second, I love thee for lines such as these:

It is the last of many last days. Is it enough?
To rest in this moment? To turn our faces to the sun?

To watch the lineaments of a world passing?

Third, I love thee because thou art the brainchild of Elizabeth Spires, the author of The Mouse of Amherst, a book which holds the Emily-est of memories for our family. 

I hope this poem settles in your bones the same way a quintessential autumn day settles in, deep and golden and passing, but with the promise of warmth and unfolding regeneration in faraway days to come.

In Heaven It Is Always Autumn
by Elizabeth Spires

"In Heaven It Is Always Autumn" ~~ John Donne

In heaven it is always autumn. The leaves are always near

to falling there but never fall, and pairs of souls out walking
heaven's paths no longer feel the weight of years upon them.
Safe in heaven's calm, they take each other's arm,
the light shining through them, all joy and terror gone.
But we are far from heaven here, in a garden ragged and unkept
as Eden would be with the walls knocked down,

....

(Read the rest here.) 

~~~~~~~~~~

Read more about Elizabeth Spires here, and head over to the Poetry Friday roundup, which is being hosted this week by the lovely Linda Baie at TeacherDance. 

Poetry Friday: I'm in Bridget Magee's new poetry anthology

 

It's the book birthday of Bridget Magee's first poetry anthology! Happy birthday to:

10*10 Poetry Anthology: Celebrating 10 in 10 Different Ways! 

Bridget's clever idea was to feature poems in ten categories based on "TEN": 

TENtative

TENderness

TENacity

TEN More Minutes

TENsion

I Wouldn't Touch That With a TEN-Foot Pole

TEN Little Fingers / TEN Little Toes

Take TEN

TENth _____

I TENd To  

She called for submissions and chose poems from 58 poets, including: 

LINDA BAIE • MICHELLE HEIDENRICH BARNES • ROBYN HOOD BLACK • JAY BRAZEAU • SUSAN BRUCK • ELENORE BYRNE • CATHY CHESTER • KELLY CONROY • LINDA M. CRATE • MARY E. CRONIN • ANGELA DE GROOT • MEENAKSHI DWIVEDI • KAREN EASTLUND • DAVID EDGE • KAREN EDMISTEN • JANET FAGAL • DANIEL J. FLORE III • MARILYN GARCIA • DAVE GOODALE • MARY LEE HAHN • RUTH BOWEN HERSEY • CORINNE HERTEL • REBEKAH HOEFT • MOLLY HOGAN • MICHELLE KOGAN • MARTY LAPOINTE-MALCHIK • IRENE LATHAM • BRIDGET MAGEE • HELEN MAGEE • MAUREEN MAGEE-UHLIK • CARMELA A. MARTINO • KATHLEEN MAZUROWSKI • KAY JERNIGAN MCGRIFF • CHRISTY MIHALY • LINDA MITCHELL • COLLEEN OWEN MURPHY • ELISABETH NORTON • AIXA PEREZ-PRADO • LISA VARCHOL PERRON • MOE PHILLIPS • JENNIFER RAUDENBUSH • LAURA PURDIE SALAS • SHANAH SALTER • JANICE SCULLY • LAURA SHOVAN • BUFFY SILVERMAN • DONNA JT SMITH • EILEEN SPINELLI • LIZ STEINGLASS • STEPHAN STUECKLIN • SUSAN JOHNSTON TAYLOR • LINDA J. THOMAS • LINDA KULP TROUT • GERALDINE TYLER • CAROL VARSALONA • JANET WONG • ALAN j WRIGHT • TABATHA YEATTS

Why, yes, you did see my name nestled in among the others! I'm thrilled and honored that Bridget deemed my little offering worthy of inclusion. What a delight to be in such stellar company. 

My contribution for the category TENth__ was an etheree (a 10-line poem in which each line follows a syllable count that matches the line number: line one has one syllable, line two has two, etc.) from the point of view of a child who conquered a fear: 

Winning at Tenth

(an etheree for young poets everywhere)

I

came in

tenth place when

I entered that

contest at my school.

Some might say that I lost.

Not me. I was terrified

but I saw it through to the end.

I shook the fear, took the risk, and won:

I let them read my poetry out loud. 

Where to find the book? Visit Bridget here to find out more. 

She's also hosting Poetry Friday this week. 

Head over to Wee Words for Wee Ones to see the round-up 

and help Bridget celebrate her book birthday! 

Poetry Friday: Jane Hirshfield's "I Would Like"

I just discovered Gwarlingo. Do you know it? (How did I not know it?) I was hunting down Jane Hirshfield poems and came across "I Would Like," which I had not read before. 

I would like to share it with you (because it's exquisite.) 

I would you to check out Gwarlingo. 

I would like you to know 

that Gwarlingo

offers "The Sunday Poem" every week, 

along with commentary, 

and 

a writing prompt. 

I would like 

you to know that 

Gwarlingo is, as the site tells us: 

"a Welsh word for the rushing sound 

a grandfather clock makes before it chimes. 

Gwarlingo is all about resonance."

I would like you to know that this word 

makes me ridiculously happy. 

I would like you 

to read this poem, 

and I would like to 

thank Jane Hirshfield for 

walking the planet, 

inhabiting the world, 

and adding to my life. 

Thank you, Jane. 

I would like 

to say thank you. 

I Would Like 

by Jane Hirshfield 

I would like

my living to inhabit me

the way

rain, sun, and their wanting

inhabit a fig or apple.

I would like to meet it

also in pieces,

scattered:

(Read the whole poem here, at Gwarlingo.) 

~~~~~~~~~~

Join the inimitable Irene Latham for the round-up this week. Irene just announced that she's creating a new class and it sounds marvelous. From her website: 

So, I have a secret I'm ready to share: I'm in the process of creating a digital course called Wild & Precious Writer. (Mary Oliver fans will know exactly where this title comes from!) 

My goal is to provide for others (you!) a path to higher joy and authenticity in your writing to create real change in your life and in the world. I'll be sharing things that have worked for me on my journey—ideas and practices that I've collected over the past twenty years from sources like The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop by Felicia Rose Chavez, and many others. 

With that in mind, I want to invite you along to help me create the course you would want. You can help me right away by answering the following question in [Irene's] comments:

If you could wave a magic wand to make your biggest writing challenge disappear, what would that be?

A simple and complicated question. 

May you have a marvelous Poetry Friday, and may all the things you would like come your way today. 

Poetry Friday: Last Minute Effort (and Taylor Mali's Metaphor Dice)

Busy. 

Teaching a Brave Writer class. Starting edits on my latest book. 

(What? I haven't talked about the new book? Details coming soon.) 

I didn't get a Poetry Friday post done, so I stole a past poem from myself, from a past busy day, a past frantic Friday. 

Be sure to visit Catherine at Reading to the Core for the round-up this week. 

~~~~~

Oh, and did I mention that Taylor Mali commented on last week's post? The always lovely Janet Fagal (Janet Clare F. in comments) is a friend of his and confirmed that it was the actual Taylor commenting on my actual blog when I expressed skepticism that Mali would ever actually find my blog. Whew. That's a lot of actuality. 

Anyway, in the second comment Taylor left (I call him Taylor now because, you know, I'm friends with all my commenters), he mentioned that he's testing a sale, aimed at teachers, (60% off!) on his Metaphor Dice, which I'll be nabbing for My Daughter the Teacher. 

You can find out more here. Just tell my buddy Taylor that Karen sent you. 

Last Minute Effort 

by Karen Edmisten 

Life is busy,

(as you know.)

So this week something

had to go.

Poetry Friday?

(Yikes! No post.)

I'll send you elsewhere,

to the host.

Simple solution.

(Brilliant, I know.)

Catherine's the best,

so go, now. Go!