Friday, April 26, 2013

Poems To Lean On


by Elena

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”
~Charles William Eliot


As with books, poems can be wise and constant friends. Today's post has a collection of Poems To Lean On.

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Surprise
by Jean Little

I feel like the ground in winter,
Hard, cold, dark, dead, unyielding.
Then hope pokes through me
Like a crocus.

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Poems:

Whack Report by Kim Addonzio
Beginner's Lesson by Malcolm Alexander
Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
Requiescat by Matthew Arnold
I Am Offering This Poem by Jimmy Santiago Baca
The Thing Is by Ellen Bass
Citizen of the World by Dave Calder
Telling the Bees by Deborah Digges
Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar
I Measure Every Grief I Meet, I'm Nobody! Who Are You?, The Soul Selects Her Own Society, and Hope Is The Thing With Feathers by Emily Dickinson
Equipment by Edgar A. Guest
Invictus by William Ernest Henley
The Word by Tony Hoagland
101 Donations by Alan Katz
If by Rudyard Kipling
Sometimes Goodbye by Mandie MacDougal
Amazing Grace by John Newton
Burning the Old Year by Naomi Shihab Nye
To A Daughter Leaving Home by Linda Pastan
You Can't Have It All by Barbara Ras
Some People by by Wislawa Szymborska, translated by Joanna Trzeciak
The Woman With A Tumor In Her Neck by Wendy Videlock
Everything is Waiting for You by David Whyte
Poetry That Will Get You Through a Hard Time on Oprah's site

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Books:

* Good Poems for Hard Times by Garrison Keillor
* Yes, There Is Something You Can Do: 150 Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Times of Need by Jamie C Miller
* Hard Times Require Furious Dancing by Alice Walker

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Song for the Sun That Disappeared Behind the Rain clouds
by Khoikhoi people, Africa

The fire darkens, the wood turns black.
The flame extinguishes, misfortune upon us.
God sets out in search of the sun.
The rainbow sparkles in his hand,
The bow of the divine hunter.
He has heard the lamentations of his children.
He walks along the milky way, he collects the stars.
With quick arms he piles them into a basket
Piles them up with quick arms
Like a woman who collects lizards
And piles them into her pot, piles them
Until the pot overflows with lizards
Until the basket overflows with light.

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Laura at Writing the World for Kids has the Poetry Friday round-up today.

Update from last week: I sent Jimmy Carter my poem, and this week, I got a personal note from him! I was *thrilled*

11 comments:

Bridget Magee said...

Thanks for sharing 'Poems to Lean On', Tabatha. I especially like Jean Little's poem, 'Surprise'. Thank goodness for hope. =)

Renee LaTulippe said...

What an excellent project to embark on. Bookmarked to read every single poem here.

I also went back to your president poems - incredible. Are you going to tell us what Jimmy Carter said in response to your gorgeous poem????

Liz Steinglass said...

What a great theme.
I especially love the Jean Little poem.
You got a letter from Jimmy Carter! How cool is that?

Linda B said...

How wonderful to hear back from President Carter, Tabatha! It is a beautiful poem & I hope he does appreciate it & the memory of it, too. I love your idea of "poems to lean on". Great project! Do you want recommendations for all ages? "Sometimes Goodbye" by Mandie MacDougal is a favorite about transitions (http://makinglemonade.com/newcreative/creative_goodbye.htm) "To A Daughter Leaving Home" Linda Pastan (http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/075.html)

Tara @ A Teaching Life said...

Love Baca's poem- that was a new one for me. This is such a great poem project to embark upon, Tabatha...and how lucky we are to be able to dip into the treasures you find. Very cool to have heard from President Carter....such a good and decent man.

GatheringBooks said...

Like everyone else, I am thrilled that you received a personal note from President Jimmy Carter about your poem. That must have been such an awesome awesome experience. Thank you for sharing this list of poems Tabatha. I always have a 'filled' sensation whenever I visit your blog - satisfies my craving for beautiful words and meaning. :)

I love these lines best of all:
He walks along the milky way, he collects the stars.
With quick arms he piles them into a basket
Piles them up with quick arms
Like a woman who collects lizards
And piles them into her pot, piles them
Until the pot overflows with lizards
Until the basket overflows with light.
:)

Tabatha said...

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone! Linda, I will add your poems right away -- thanks for the suggestions!
Renee, the message was: "To Tabatha, Thanks for bringing back fond memories so beautifully! Best wishes, Jimmy C."

Mary Lee said...

LOVE IT that you got a note back from Jimmy Carter!

laurasalas said...

Beautiful poems. The second one is my favorite! And nice--a reply from a Former President--woot!

Robyn Hood Black said...

What a wonderful project, Tabatha - good luck and thanks for sharing these. Like Myra, I was struck by those images in the first poem.

Woo-hooo on the response from President Carter! Wow. I'm so glad you shared that, since I missed out on lots of Poetry Friday last week and hadn't seen your terrific poem (or the others).

Ruth said...

I love that President Carter sent you a note! He is one of my heroes. Loved the poem, too.