Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Poetry Wednesday: Feeling Bubbly

I have the best brother in the whole world.

My Christmas/birthday gift this year was two inscribed books of poetry. Two inscribed books of poetry by former U.S. Poet Laureates to add to my "collection" (Billy Collins and Ted Kooser).

One of the two is THE QUARRY, by Richard Eberhart, who was Poet Laureate in the year of my birth.

The other is IN THE CLEARING, by Robert Frost. (Robert Frost!!)

This gift literally took my breath away. Still does.

Here is a quote by Richard Eberhart:
"Poetry is a maneuvering of ideas, a spectacular pleasure, achievement and mastery of intractable material, not less than an attempt to move the world, to order the chaos of man, insofar as one is able. Love, harmony, order; poise, precision, new worlds."

Here is a poem by Frost:

In a Glass of Cider

It seemed that I was a mite of sediment
That waited for the bottom to ferment
So I could catch a bubble in ascent.
I rode up on one till the bubble burst
And when that left me to sink back reversed
I was no worse off than I was at first.
I'd catch another bubble if I waited.
The thing was to get now and then elated.


Thank you, brother of mine, for the gift of poetry, and for a moment of elation!

10 comments:

  1. What a fantastic gift! Yum. I got Ballistics, the new Billy Collins, and can't wait to dive into it (after I finish the library books I have out right now).

    Love the Frost poem. Don't remember reading that one before!

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  2. Laura,

    Ooh, ooh, ooh! A new Billy Collins! Something to look for on the traditional New Years Eve Visitation of the Bookstores!

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  3. Fabulous present, and wonderful brother!!
    Enjoy your New Years Eve Visitatons!
    Happy New Year!

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  4. Glad you liked the books (and thanks for being *very* nice and not mentioning that they arrived a bit late...) It was great fun finding them for you! You would, of course, deserve the elation just for being you, but the fact is that you have been a particularly good girl during the past year!

    Love,
    Me

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  5. Anonymous10:13 PM

    What thoughtful gifts. LOVELY!!!

    --Stacey

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  6. Aren't brothers wonderful creatures? Those gifts sound so thoughtful.

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  7. What a magnificent gift and a magnificent brother!

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  8. I can't decide which is better: the gift or the fact that your brother knows you as well as he does.

    That Eberhart quote is spectacular.

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  9. What great gifts! I don't remember reading that Frost one before but now I can smell cider. One of ny gifts this year was Frederick Bruechner's The Yellow Leaves. Can't wait to get into that!

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  10. A most thoughtful gift!
    Great Frost poem!

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