Poetry

Leendalu may be right that every blog should have a poet laureate. That sounds like a huge commitment. I can probably only manage "the poet I'm enjoying most at the moment." At this moment it is Joy Harjo, featured last night on The Newshour.

First let me say a word about a news program that features poetry regularly. Cool! I've long since given up TV network news. For spoken information about the outside world, I rely on CSPAN, The Newshour, Public Radio. I also read quite a bit: magazines, books and internet articles. But reading is different. I'm inclined to skip over topics that don't seem appealing at the moment. TV and radio encourage me to listen to things I didn't expect to be interesting but often are - like poetry.

Anyway, in case you're reluctant to click over to Joy Harjo's page, here's one of the poems that caught my attention (pasted here, unabashedly without permission, from the PBS Poetry Series page.)


To pray you open your whole self
To sky, to earth, to sun, to moon
To one whole voice that is you. And know there is more
That you can’t see, can’t hear,
Can’t know except in moments
Steadily growing, and in languages
That aren’t always sound but other
Circles of motion.
Like eagle that Sunday morning
Over Salt River. Circled in blue sky
In wind, swept our hearts clean
With sacred wings.
We see you, see ourselves and know
That we must take the utmost care
And kindness in all things.
Breathe in, knowing we are made of
All this, and breathe, knowing We are truly blessed because we
Were born, and die soon within a
True circle of motion,
Like eagle rounding out the morning
Inside us.
We pray that it will be done
In beauty.
In beauty.