HOW TO BE A POET
by Wendell Berry
(to remind myself)
(to remind myself)
i
Make a place to sit down.
Sit down. Be quiet.
You must depend upon
affection, reading, knowledge,
skill—more of each
than you have—inspiration,
work, growing older, patience,
for patience joins time
to eternity. Any readers
who like your poems,
doubt their judgment.
ii
Breathe with unconditional breath
the unconditioned air.
Shun electric wire.
Communicate slowly. Live
a three-dimensioned life;
stay away from screens.
Stay away from anything
that obscures the place it is in.
There are no unsacred places;
there are only sacred places
and desecrated places.
iii
Accept what comes from silence.
Make the best you can of it.
Of the little words that come
out of the silence, like prayers
prayed back to the one who prays,
make a poem that does not disturb
the silence from which it came.
We'll have to delay our practice of the middle part of Mr. Berry's poem as we share and enjoy our poems via electric wire, communicating quickly, gazing at screens.
Leave your links in the comments. I'll round up periodically, and in between times, I'll find some silence and write some poems.
If you're interested in hosting a Poetry Friday roundup in June-December 2012, the place to sign up is here. There are only six dates left, so don't delay! (Yes, I'll go back later today and add the blogs and links for some of the ones that are incomplete. Bad planning to do the roundup and the call for hosts on the same Friday...)
* * * * * * * * *
Steven Withrow, at Crackles of Speech, shares an original poem about his Maine Coon Calico, Muffin.
Lucky for us, Tara, at A Teaching Life, continues to investigate and explore the new Poet Laureate's poetry.
Meandering is the mode of the day with Robyn Hood Black, at Read, Write, Howl.
Violet, at Violet Nesdoly / Poems, meditates on the meaning of a metronome.
Charles Ghinga (Father Goose) has an original moon poem for us this week.
Book lovers and independent bookstore lovers, head over to Jama's Alphabet Soup for a wistful remembrance of bookstores and booksellers.
Julie Larios, at The Drift Record, shares a poet with us, rather than a poem. Check out his rakish pose. (Some whimsical eye candy for Jama's blog?) And definitely follow the link to the new book on Frost and his poems. I'm predicting that sales will jump today.
Douglas Florian, at Florian Cafe, treats us to another poem from his baseball collection POEM RUNS.
Iphigene, at Gathering Books, has a "remembering home" poem that reminds me a bit of Jama's. Just a bit.
Check it Out. That's Jone's blog and what you should do. On Wednesday, Jone interviewed Susan Taylor Brown. ( I have serious office envy.) Today, Jone is sharing an original "Lily" poem by Susan.
Linda, at TeacherDance, has written an original Father's Day poem for her husband, a great father and grandfather.
We have another meandering post from Renee, at No Water River. She takes us from bales of hay, to a dairy farm in Iowa, to a "plowboy" farmer who loves cowboy poetry, to a silly rendition of a classic poem about a dairy cow. MOO!
Laura, at Author Amok, writes in response to current events in Syria.
Tabatha, at The Opposite of Indifference, shows us a different side of the Boogieman.
Katya, at Write. Sketch. Repeat., found a fascinating book/poem connection.
Ed DeCaria has a new gig writing baseball poetry for The Hardball Times. He uses one by Marianne Moore to convince readers that baseball and poetry can harmonize, and he follows that with an original sudoku haiku.
Diane triples with her Poetry Friday posts every week! She has FOUR offerings this week:
At Random Noodling I have Rita Dove's poem "Daystar." Kurious Kitty celebrates Father's Day with a poem by Peter Markus from the anthology, Fathers. And, over at Kurious K's Kwotes' is a quote by Peter Markus. The Write Sisters has a father poem by Seamus Heaney, "Digging."
Lucky for us, Tara, at A Teaching Life, continues to investigate and explore the new Poet Laureate's poetry.
Meandering is the mode of the day with Robyn Hood Black, at Read, Write, Howl.
Violet, at Violet Nesdoly / Poems, meditates on the meaning of a metronome.
Charles Ghinga (Father Goose) has an original moon poem for us this week.
Book lovers and independent bookstore lovers, head over to Jama's Alphabet Soup for a wistful remembrance of bookstores and booksellers.
Julie Larios, at The Drift Record, shares a poet with us, rather than a poem. Check out his rakish pose. (Some whimsical eye candy for Jama's blog?) And definitely follow the link to the new book on Frost and his poems. I'm predicting that sales will jump today.
Douglas Florian, at Florian Cafe, treats us to another poem from his baseball collection POEM RUNS.
Iphigene, at Gathering Books, has a "remembering home" poem that reminds me a bit of Jama's. Just a bit.
Check it Out. That's Jone's blog and what you should do. On Wednesday, Jone interviewed Susan Taylor Brown. ( I have serious office envy.) Today, Jone is sharing an original "Lily" poem by Susan.
Linda, at TeacherDance, has written an original Father's Day poem for her husband, a great father and grandfather.
We have another meandering post from Renee, at No Water River. She takes us from bales of hay, to a dairy farm in Iowa, to a "plowboy" farmer who loves cowboy poetry, to a silly rendition of a classic poem about a dairy cow. MOO!
Laura, at Author Amok, writes in response to current events in Syria.
Tabatha, at The Opposite of Indifference, shows us a different side of the Boogieman.
Katya, at Write. Sketch. Repeat., found a fascinating book/poem connection.
Ed DeCaria has a new gig writing baseball poetry for The Hardball Times. He uses one by Marianne Moore to convince readers that baseball and poetry can harmonize, and he follows that with an original sudoku haiku.
Diane triples with her Poetry Friday posts every week! She has FOUR offerings this week:
At Random Noodling I have Rita Dove's poem "Daystar." Kurious Kitty celebrates Father's Day with a poem by Peter Markus from the anthology, Fathers. And, over at Kurious K's Kwotes' is a quote by Peter Markus. The Write Sisters has a father poem by Seamus Heaney, "Digging."
Doraine, at Dori Reads, has a post full of laughter and joy.
At Writing the World for Kids, Laura has some thought-provoking lyrics, and lots of people took part in her 15 Words or Less prompt for this week. (I need to get back in the habit of participating...)
Debbie shares a J. Patrick Lewis cat poem with fun plays on words this week at her blog Debbie Diller: A Journey in Learning.
Amy, at The Poem Farm, says goodbye to a beloved pet bunny.
Donna, at Write Time, wrote a Father's Day poem for her sons (about their father) that will bring tears to your eyes.
At Mainley Write, Donna feels the tug of tides in her original poem.
Andi, at A Wrung Sponge, had an urban fox sighting just after reading a poem about urban foxes in a new book by Marilyn Singer.
Marjorie, at Paper Tigers, shares a poem from Talking with Mother Earth/Hablando con Madre Tierra, a collection of poems by Salvadoran poet Jorge Argueta.
Liz, at Growing Wild, has an original poem about the summer swimming pool that is simply PERFECT!!
Anastasia shares THE CONSTRUCTION CREW by Lynn Meltzer (Author) and Carrie Eko-Burgess (Illustrator) at Booktalking.
Need a poem for Father's Day? Sylvia has a list of poetry books about fathers at Poetry For Children.
Carol, at Carol's Corner, is trying hard to savor the last year before both of her boys leave the nest. Her poem choice today is perfect for savoring and noticing small moments.
Elaine is sharing an original memoir poem at Wild Rose Reader today. More savoring!
Pentimento shares a poem about the long healing that comes after the loss of an infant.
Rena, who is On the Way to Somewhere, shares an original poem about a sock monster.
(Now it's time for lunch, and then I'm going to make the birthday cake for my mom's 85th birthday tomorrow. I'll be back to round up a few more posts when the three chocolately layers are cooling!)
Ruth has arrived at her motel after a day of traveling and shares with us a poem about having two homes. Even her blog's name seems to be a comment on the theme of place -- There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town.
Janet, at All About the Books with Janet Squires, shares a Lee Bennett Hopkins anthology about the wonders of museums.
Lorie Ann Grover writes, "At On Point I have Memory's Shimmer, and at readertotz we have How Doth the Little Crocodile."
At Writing the World for Kids, Laura has some thought-provoking lyrics, and lots of people took part in her 15 Words or Less prompt for this week. (I need to get back in the habit of participating...)
Debbie shares a J. Patrick Lewis cat poem with fun plays on words this week at her blog Debbie Diller: A Journey in Learning.
Amy, at The Poem Farm, says goodbye to a beloved pet bunny.
Donna, at Write Time, wrote a Father's Day poem for her sons (about their father) that will bring tears to your eyes.
At Mainley Write, Donna feels the tug of tides in her original poem.
Andi, at A Wrung Sponge, had an urban fox sighting just after reading a poem about urban foxes in a new book by Marilyn Singer.
Marjorie, at Paper Tigers, shares a poem from Talking with Mother Earth/Hablando con Madre Tierra, a collection of poems by Salvadoran poet Jorge Argueta.
Liz, at Growing Wild, has an original poem about the summer swimming pool that is simply PERFECT!!
Anastasia shares THE CONSTRUCTION CREW by Lynn Meltzer (Author) and Carrie Eko-Burgess (Illustrator) at Booktalking.
Need a poem for Father's Day? Sylvia has a list of poetry books about fathers at Poetry For Children.
Carol, at Carol's Corner, is trying hard to savor the last year before both of her boys leave the nest. Her poem choice today is perfect for savoring and noticing small moments.
Elaine is sharing an original memoir poem at Wild Rose Reader today. More savoring!
Pentimento shares a poem about the long healing that comes after the loss of an infant.
Rena, who is On the Way to Somewhere, shares an original poem about a sock monster.
(Now it's time for lunch, and then I'm going to make the birthday cake for my mom's 85th birthday tomorrow. I'll be back to round up a few more posts when the three chocolately layers are cooling!)
Ruth has arrived at her motel after a day of traveling and shares with us a poem about having two homes. Even her blog's name seems to be a comment on the theme of place -- There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town.
Janet, at All About the Books with Janet Squires, shares a Lee Bennett Hopkins anthology about the wonders of museums.
Lorie Ann Grover writes, "At On Point I have Memory's Shimmer, and at readertotz we have How Doth the Little Crocodile."
