Tag Archives: poetry

“Honda Pavarotti” by Tony Hoagland

Posted on February 21, 2013 by

I’m driving on the dark highway when the opera singer on the radio opens his great mouth and the whole car plunges down the canyon of his throat. So the night becomes an aria of stars and exit signs as … Continue reading →

Posted in cars, poetry | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“One Today” by Richard Blanco

Posted on January 22, 2013 by

One sun rose on us today, kindled over our shores, peeking over the Smokies, greeting the faces of the Great Lakes, spreading a simple truth across the Great Plains, then charging across the Rockies. One light, waking up rooftops, under … Continue reading →

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“Ode to Repetition” by Ellen Bass

Posted on January 15, 2013 by

I like to take the same walk down the wide expanse of Woodrow to the ocean and most days I turn left toward the lighthouse. The sea is always different. Some days dreamy, waves hardly waves, just a broad undulation in … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, poetry | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Making a life from the fragments and the shards

Posted on January 14, 2013 by

What is art? How does one create significance and address sacred issues, life issues with words? How can art cross from the specific and the personal to the larger and more universal spaces of meaning? How can personal pain transform … Continue reading →

Posted in Altzheimers, poetry | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Personal Timelines woven with world events

Posted on January 10, 2013 by

My students seem to have a bit of trouble with chronology. I thought it would be a good and creative exercise for them, as we embark on the period of Reconstruction, to create a timeline of their lives and then … Continue reading →

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“Secret of Life” by Diana Der-Hovanessian

Posted on January 8, 2013 by

Once during the war on a bus going to Portsmouth a navy yard worker told me the secret of life. The secret of life, he said, can never be passed down one generation to the other. The secret of life, … Continue reading →

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“I dwell in Possibility—” Emily Dickinson

Posted on January 3, 2013 by

I dwell in Possibility– A fairer House than Prose– More numerous of Windows– Superior–for Doors– Of Chambers as the Cedars– Impregnable of Eye– And for an Everlasting Roof The Gambrels of the Sky– Of Visitors–the fairest– For Occupation–This– The spreading … Continue reading →

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“After the Gentle Poet Kobayashi Issa” by Robert Hass

Posted on December 30, 2012 by

New Year’s morning— everything is in blossom!    I feel about average. xxxx    A huge frog and I staring at each other,    neither of us moves. xxxx    This moth saw brightness in a woman’s chamber—    burned to a crisp. xxxx    Asked … Continue reading →

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“When I am among the trees” by Mary Oliver

Posted on December 22, 2012 by

When I am among the trees, especially the willows and the honey locust, equally the beech, the oaks and the pines, they give off such hints of gladness. I would almost say that they save me, and daily. I am … Continue reading →

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Untangling

Posted on December 8, 2012 by

I am working on untangling the many knots in a necklace my mother’s older sister gave me before she died this fall As I loosen these tight places I imagine she had given up years ago trying leaving me to … Continue reading →

Posted in family, poetry, relationship | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment