Thursday, March 24, 2022

My Poem is life

Poetry is what happens when nothing else can.
~Charles Bukowski


For a while during the winter, I couldn't find anything outside I wanted to take a photo of. The snow and ice had made things look interesting for a bit, but they were gone. The birds were too skittish. Now, the buds are back. Yay!


Today's poem, from "Song of Winnie" by Gwendolyn Brooks:

My Poem is life, and not finished.
It shall never be finished.
My Poem is life, and can grow.

Wherever life can grow, it will.
It will sprout out,
and do the best it can.
I give you what I have.
You don’t get all your questions answered in this world.
How many answers shall be found
in the developing world of my Poem?
I don’t know. Nevertheless I put my Poem,
which is my life, into your hands, where it will do the best it can.

******************

The Poem Farm has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Amy!

11 comments:

Linda Mitchell said...

Oh, I love Gwendolyn Brooks. She's new to me within the last few years. So, every poem that's new to me makes my heart sing. Wasn't she just a genius with making a poem her own in this way? Thank you for this jewel to start my day.

Amy LV said...

Everything about this post gives me hope and peace, Tabatha. Thank you. We were just out investigating buds yesterday, and now, thank you to you...I have a new poem to copy into my notebook. Gratitude and wishes for more spring beauty and buds unfurled. xo

Irene Latham said...

The buds are back. Yay! And yes to our lives being poems... and to place it in another's hands...I guess we do that all the time, and how nice of GB to put it in a poem. Thank you, Tab. And the cover of Imperfect II is wonderful! xo

Patricia Franz said...

Yes, "wherever life can grow, it will." Your photo reflects the hope we are hanging on to! Thank you!

laurasalas said...

No buds here in Minnesota yet, so I'm enjoying yours. I love the poem, but I'm even more taken by the Bukowski quote. Thank you for both. <3

Linda B said...

And that is all we ask, isn't it? As Brooks ends, I do smile, Tabatha. They are beautiful, heartfelt words: ""where it will do the best it can". I have no buds showing yet, but I'm looking!

jama said...

OH, thanks for the Gwendolyn Brooks fix. So nice! Buds are showing up around here so this is perfect. :)

Mary Lee said...

That's a GORGEOUS photo and I am so so SO in love with Brooks' poem! Thank you for these gifts. And for YOU.

Michelle Heidenrich Barnes said...

Love both this poem and the Bukowski quote. They make such a wonderful pairing! I may have to borrow the quote for a future "inspirational musing" on TLD. :) Thanks for consistently feeding my quotation addiction.

Denise Krebs said...

Beautiful poem by Gwendolyn Brooks. It was new to me too. I love, love
"My Poem is life, and not finished.
It shall never be finished."

So much truth there.

Elisabeth said...

This is a poem that invites rereading and lingering!

These lines really resonate with me:
"You don’t get all your questions answered in this world.
How many answers shall be found
in the developing world of my Poem?"

Thanks for sharing this with us!