Easter Sunday Sue Schmidt, occasional contributor to this blog and one of the most spiritual people I know, alerted me to this Jeanne Murray Walker poem about wrestling with doubt. Although it’s not explicitly an Easter poem, it describes God blazing up when everything seems empty—as God did on that Resurrection Sunday two millennia ago. […]
Tag Archives: Lucille Clifton
Light beyond Sun and Words
Spiritual Sunday Tomorrow being the Annunciation–Christians believe the Holy Spirit visited Mary nine months before December 25–I share a series of poems on the subject by Lucille Clifton, that most motherly of poets. In “a song of mary,” Clifton captures the ordinariness of Mary’s life before Jesus, even as there are princes “sitting on thrones […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Annunciation", "holy night", "island mary", "mary's dream", "song of mary", Virgin Mary Comments closed
Farewell to Serena’s Dominance?
Friday It was only a quarterfinal match at the Australian Open, but when Serena Williams lost a match in which she was serving at 5-1, 40-30 in the deciding third set, we had a second pillar teetering amongst those that have been supporting the tennis universe.. To borrow from A. E Housman, it felt like […]
All I Needed Was Some Small Light
After two years of trauma, I feel hope again with the Democrats taking the House. A Lucille Clifton poem captures my sense of relief.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "man who killed the bear", Democratic women, election 2018 Comments closed
Imagining Little Ocean’s Future
Looking for the literary significance of my latest grandchild, I turn to Walcott, Whitman, Masefield, Coleridge, and Byron. What emerges is a mystical seeker.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking", "Sea Fever", "Tales of the Islands", baby names, Derek Walcott, J. D. Salinger, John Masefield, John Milton, Laurence Sterne, Lord Byron, Paradise Lost, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, To Esme with Love and Squalor, Tristram Shandy, Walt Whitman, William Blake Comments closed
Aretha Put a Spell on Us
Looking for a poem that captures Aretha Franklin’s power and self-confidence, I chose Lucille Clifton’s “homage to my hips.”
Jesus as a Gardener
Sunday Perhaps I should have saved today’s joyous poem by Andrew Hudgins for the spring growing season since it associates Easter with new growth, but you’re getting it today because I enjoy it so much. To set it up, I’m also posting a poem by Lucille Clifton, which also focuses on Easter fertility imagery. “Christ […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Ascension", "Christ the Gardener", "Kitten", "spring song", Andrew Hudgins, Easter, fertility, gardening, Mary Oliver Comments closed
Apples That Taste of Earth and Song
Apples bring out poetic creativity, all the more so because the West has seen them as the forbidden fruit. I share here a selection of tempting apple poems.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "August", "eve's version", "Song of the Wander Aengus", apples, Charles Algernon Swinburne, Christina Rossetti, fruit, Goblin Market, Grace Schulman, Grimm Brothers, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Snow White, temptation, the fall, William Butler Yeats Comments closed
Hair That Jumps Up and Dances
Lucille Clifton’s “homage to my hair”lifts up those who have doubts about having kinky hair.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "homage to my hair", black hair, hair, Self esteem Comments closed
