Poetry Sunday: Trying To Remember by Eric Nixon

Most of my great ideas seem to come when I'm lying awake in the middle of the night. In the night, behind my closed eyelids, anything seems possible and I can visualize the implementation of my plans right down to the smallest detail. And everything works perfectly. In the morning, in the light of day and the press of daily life, it's impossible to remember what it was about that idea that was so great. Or even what the idea was. Life goes on and tonight I'll lie awake and make my plans once again. Tomorrow I'll try to remember.

Trying To Remember

by Eric Nixon

Trying to remember
The great idea I had
That I came up with
Just yesterday
But sadly, sitting here
Under the ornate tin ceiling
Of the busy cafe
With the sound and smell
Of jaunty piano music
Swirling together in concert
With the thick layering
Of freshly ground coffee
Punctuated by the occasional
Clattering of plates
And the steady background
Droning of scattered conversation
Inside
While I look out the window
At the passing traffic on Route 9
And the billowy greens
Of the maple trees across the street
Swaying in the breezy late-day winds
Looking picture-perfect
With the help of the low-lying sun
Brightly-lit light green
Contrasting nicely
With the shadowy side of each branch
Deeply-dark emerald
And all of a sudden
I realize I don’t care
About what I’ve forgotten
Since I’ve gotten
So much more
From my minutes
Of being lost in thought

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters! Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...

The Nature of Things

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