I Loved You Before I Was Born by Li-Young Lee I loved you before I was born. It doesn’t make sense, I know. I saw your eyes before I had eyes to see. And I’ve lived longing for your ever
To the Girl who Works at the Starbucks down the Street from my House on Delmar Heights Road, Swear to God, I’m not a stalker by Rudy Francisco To the girl who works at the Starbucks down the street from
“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.” Mary Oliver Mary Oliver, the great poet of presence died on January 17, 2019, she was 83
Last Night As I Was Sleeping by Antonio Machado Last Night As I Was Sleeping, I dreamt–a marvelous error!– that a spring was breaking out in my heart. I said: Along which secret aqueduct, Oh water, are you coming to
My Life Is a Memory by Rafael Arévalo Martínez, translated from Spanish by William George William When I met her I loved myself. It was she who had my best singing, she who set flame to my obscure youth, she
I first heard this song a couple of days ago and I haven’t been able to get it out of my heart. Some deep parts of me resonate with the feelings Bea Miller gives voice to… I’m guessing that maybe
This year marks the 25th anniversary or the release of R.E.M.’s Automatic for the People, which contained, “Everybody Hurts.” I must be getting old. Everybody Hurts by R.E.M. When your day is long And the night, the night is yours
Chance the Rapper, together with Daniel Caesar performed an unrecorded song on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. I think he’s calling it, “First World Problems.” So beautiful! First World Problems by Chance the Rapper, featuring Daniel Caesar I get
Pearl by Ted Kooser Elkader, Iowa, a morning in March, the Turkey River running brown and wrinkly from a late spring snow in Minnesota, a white two-story house on Mulberry Street, windows flashing with sun, and I had come a
What Comes by Carolyn Forché J’ai rapporté du désespoir un panier si ipetit mon amou, qu’on a pu le tresser en osier. I bought back from despair a basket so light, that it could have been woven of willow.
Disturb us, O Lord when we are too well-pleased with ourselves when our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little, because we sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, O Lord when with the abundance of things
Starting Over – Fighting Back by Sheila Cassidy And so we must begin to live again, We of the damaged bodies And assaulted mind. Starting from scratch with the rubble of our lives And picking up the dust Of dreams
We Lived Happily During the War by Ilya Kaminsky And when they bombed other people’s houses, we protested but not enough, we opposed them but not enough. I was in my bed, around my bed America was falling: invisible house
Keep Breathing by Ingrid Michaelson The storm is coming but I don’t mindPeople are dying, I close my blindsAll that I know is I’m breathing nowI want to change the world, and instead I sleepI want to believe in more
A Brief for the Defense by Jack Gilbert Sorrow everywhere. Slaughter everywhere. If babies are not starving someplace, they are starving somewhere else. With flies in their nostrils. But we enjoy our lives because that’s what God wants. Otherwise the
A Little Bit of Everything by Dawes With his back against the San Francisco traffic, On the bridges side that faces towards the jail, Setting out to join a demographic, He hoists his first leg up over the rail. And
So I was driving to Issaquah to meet a local leader about a possible new church and to walk around a couple of neighborhoods together. On my way, I was listening to KEXP radio…as I often do, when John Richards
“Tomorrow, & Tomorrow, & Tomorrow” By William Shakespeare (from Macbeth, spoken by Macbeth) Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,To the last syllable of recorded time;And all our yesterdays have lighted foolsThe way to
Spring Song by Lucille Clifton the green of Jesus is breaking the ground and the sweet smell of delicious Jesus is opening the house and the dance of Jesus music has hold of the air and the world is turning
Praise Song for the Day A Poem for Barack Obama’s Presidential Inauguration. by ELIZABETH ALEXANDER Praise Song for the Day Each day we go about our business,walking past each other, catching each other’seyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All
Merger Poem by Judy Chicago And then all that has divided us will merge And then compassion will be wedded to power And then softness will come to a world that is harsh and unkind And then both men and
Came across this song this week, I’d forgotten about it… so good! Cantaloop by Us3 Ladies and gentlemen As you know we have something special down here at Birdland this evening A recording for Blue Note Records Yeah, yeah, yeah
Over the weekend Lynette, Pascal and I visited a Mennonite church, and I was undone by a hymn we sang together. Here it is: Will You Let Me Be Your Servant Will you let me be your servant, let me
Intervention by Arcade Fire The king’s taken back the throne The useless seed was sown When they say they’re cutting off the phone Then tell ’em you’re not home No place to hide You’ll find there’s a soldier on their
Patient Trust Prayer of Teilhard de Chardin Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient
Certainty by Tukaram Certainty undermines one’s power, and turns happiness into a long shot. Certainty confines. Dears, there is nothing in your life that will not change – especially your ideas of God. Look what the insanity of righteous knowledge
I’ve been visiting and revisiting Denise Levertov and her inspired pen of truth since returning from Len & Liz Sweet’s Orcas Island home last week. While with the Sweets and other friends, I shared part of my desire to find
I’ve gone on prayers walks; I’ve gone on semiotic walks; I’ve gone on nature walks but until this morning I had never even heard of poetry walks. Paul Steinke guided a number of us into one of Gerard Manley Hopkins’
Failing and Flying by Jack Gilbert Everyone forgets that Icarus also flew. It’s the same when love comes to an end, or the marriage fails and people say they knew it was a mistake, that everybody said it would never
I wasn’t raised with the wirings and poetry of Rilke, but I am sure grateful to have been introduced to them. The following is arguably one of his best known quotes, yet I had to post it. It is just
