I came across this poem by Veronica A. Shoffstall and I liked it very much. After awhile you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul. And you learn that love doesn’t mean security, and you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises. And you begin to [...]
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Mary Oliver again. She never lets you down, does she? This is from Halleluiah Everyone should be born into this world happy and loving everything. But in truth it rarely works that way. For myself, I have spent my life clamoring toward it. Halleluiah, anyway I’m not where I started! And have you too been [...]
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Time for another dose of Mary Oliver. She is the – albeit unofficial – Poet Laureate of Ignatian Spirituality. Hello, sun in my face. Hello, you who made the morning and spread it over the fields and into the faces of the tulips and the nodding morning glories, and into the windows of, even, the [...]
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“In Blackwater Woods” is one of my favorite Mary Oliver poems. (How can I have said that? I love every word she has ever written!) You may be familiar with the final stanza from the “Words of Wisdom” section over on the right, but it’s worth reading the entire poem. To live in this world [...]
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As you probably know by now, Denise Levertov is one of my favorite poets. I don’t quite know why, but I’ve been going to her a lot recently. She feeds something deep within me. Here are a few lines from The Fountain: Don’t say, don’t say there is no water to solace the dryness at [...]
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So many young men and women have died in our wars. Every Memorial Day, I keep remembering Wilfred Owen’s “Anthem for Doomed Youth” What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? – Only the monstruous anger of the guns. Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle Can patter out their hasty orisons. No mockeries now for [...]
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Time for another salutary dose of Mary Oliver. Her poem, Have You Ever Tried To Enter The Long Black Branches, is magical and amazing. Who can open the door who does not reach for the latch? Who can travel the miles who does not put one foot in front of the other, all attentive to [...]
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I’ve already shared one of Rabindranath Tagore’s poems with you. In this one, he prays for strength. Even if we don’t feel it now, this is something for which we all need to pray. Give Me Strength This is my prayer to thee, my lord—strike, strike at the root of penury in my heart. Give me the [...]
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Not so long ago I wrote about Faded Advertising. It’s sad, but I can still recall commercial jingles from my youth. For example, ”When you taste Erin Soups, you know right away that the sweet taste of goodness is coming your way. Get the flavour, taste the greatness of Erin’s special way. It’s a world that’s full of goodness. [...]
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I can hardly believe I’ve been banging on all this time without ever having shared a poem by Anne Sexton. I love Welcome Morning and have used the two last lines in the “Words of Wisdom” widget over on the right: “The Joy that isn’t shared, I’ve heard, dies young.” There is joy in all: [...]
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