Archive for April, 2010

Literary Mileage
Poem in My Pocket

Monday, April 26th, 2010

Poppies (photo provided by freefoto.com)

Here’s a poem by one of my favorite poets (retrieved from www.poets.org). It’s the poem in my pocket for readers, friends, and other loved ones during this final week of National Poetry Month:

Poppies

By Mary Oliver

The poppies send up their

orange flares; swaying

in the wind, their congregations

are a levitation

of bright dust, of thin

and lacy leaves.

There isn’t a place

in this world that doesn’t

sooner or later drown

in the indigos of darkness,

but now, for a while,

the roughage

shines like a miracle

as it floats above everything

with its yellow hair.

Of course nothing stops the cold,

black, curved blade

from hooking forward—

of course

loss is the great lesson.

But I also say this: that light

is an invitation

to happiness,

and that happiness,

when it’s done right,

is a kind of holiness,

palpable and redemptive.

Inside the bright fields,

touched by their rough and spongy gold,

I am washed and washed

in the river

of earthly delight—

and what are you going to do—

what can you do

about it—

deep, blue night?

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

 

« Older Entries |

Copyright © 2010 Judy Leaver. All rights reserved. Design by Adam Sweeney Creative.