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A Poem for a Thursday #319
Stuart Kestenbaum has written six collections of poetry. He has also written a book of essays on craft and community. He was the poet laureate of Maine from 2016 to 2021. Kestenbaum was the director of the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine, for many years. Ted Kooser said of Kestenbaum’s writing that it contains “heartfelt responses to the privilege of having been given a life.” It doesn't announce itself or knockon the door of your heart. Suddenlyit's right behind you,looking with great pityat the back of your neckand your shoulders on whichit spends days placing a burdenand lifting it. Grief arrivesin its own sweet time, sweetbecause…
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In Memoriam
My grandmother died a week and a half ago. She was 100 years old. Over the last little while, her quality of life had diminished and it was time; we all knew that. But now there is a huge hole in my life. What am I supposed to do about that? I know I am fortunate to have had a living grandparent for so long. But now she is gone it is as if a connection to my childhood is gone too. As you grow up your relationship with other family members grows too but, somehow, a grandparent-grandchild relationship changes and yet stays the same. I was simultaneously little Jenny…
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A Poem for a Thursday #318
I had a bit of trouble picking a poem for today. That is not because I couldn’t find one I like, but because I can’t keep track of which ones I have featured. Three hundred and eighteen poems is a lot of poems. I finally settled on one by Barbara Crooker. I have featured her before but I did a search and I haven’t used this poem. It is such a lovely picture of a November day. Cold morning, November, taking a walk,when up ahead, suddenly, the treesunleave,and thousands of starlings lift off, animmenseriver of noise; they braid and unbraidthemselvesover my head, the gray silk skyembroideredwith black kisses, the whoosh…
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Book Review//The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan
If I mention the American Dust Bowl to you (if you are American) you probably have some basic information that you learned in school. A few photos flash through your mind of families looking poverty-stricken and depressed. You think of dust storms and droughts and bleak landscapes. As with much of history, however, our common knowledge tends to be simply the tip of the iceberg. The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan was enlightening, depressing, and absolutely fascinating. The dust storms that took over the Great Plains in the same years as the Great Depression were unlike anything seen before. People had flooded into the Plains and wheat became a…
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A Poem for a Thursday #317
I almost forgot it was Thursday and time for another poem. I’ve been sick all week and completely lost track of time. I have to go back to work tomorrow which is unfortunate. I have enjoyed the last few days of being just sick enough to be lazy with a clear conscience but not so sick I can’t enjoy anything. Maybe I was born for a life of leisure. Just think of all the time I would have for my neglected hobbies. Here is a charming poem by Robert Frost. I hope it brightens your day. THE LAST WORD OF A BLUEBIRDAs told to a childAs I went out a…
