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Poetry Sunday: Every day as a wide field, every page by Naomi Shihab Nye

Of all the poems I read over the past week, this was the one that really grabbed me. I hope it grabs you, too, because...

"When you paused for a poem
it could reshape the day"


Every day as a wide field, every page

by Naomi Shihab Nye

1

Standing outside
staring at a tree
gentles our eyes
We cheer
to see fireflies
winking again

Where have our friends been
all the long hours?
Minds stretching

beyond the field
become
their own skies

Windows  doors
grow more
important

Look through a word
swing that sentence
wide open

Kneeling outside
to find
sturdy green

glistening blossoms
under the breeze
that carries us silently

2

And there were so many more poems to read!
Countless friends to listen to.
We didn’t have to be in the same room—
the great modern magic.
Everywhere together now.
Even scared together now
from all points of the globe
which lessened it somehow.
Hopeful together too, exchanging
winks in the dark, the little lights blinking.
When your hope shrinks
you might feel the hope of
someone far away lifting you up.
Hope is the thing ...
Hope was always the thing!
What else did we give each other
from such distances?
Breath of syllables,
sing to me from your balcony
please! Befriend me
in the deep space.
When you paused for a poem
it could reshape the day
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Comments

  1. David M. Gascoigne,March 7, 2021 at 6:17 AM

    Lovely work. It perfectly encapsulates the world we are forced into at present, except in Texas I suppose where everything has opened up again. I fear that will not turn out well!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersMarch 7, 2021 at 8:26 AM

      Your fear is well-founded and not even a well-written poem can reshape that.

      Delete
  2. Judy KruegerMarch 7, 2021 at 11:43 AM

    A wonderful poem. Where did you find it?

    ReplyDelete

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