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A Poem for a Thursday #5
Photo by Jordan Bauer on Unsplash Carol Ann Duffy is a Scottish poet and playwright. She was appointed Britain’s Poet Laureate in May of 2009. In describing her own writing she says she “likes to use simple words, but in a complicated way.” Here is a poem about Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare’s wife, to whom he willed his second best bed. “Item I gyve unto my wief my second best bed…’ (from Shakespeare’s will) The bed we loved in was a spinning world of forests, castles,, torchlight, cliff-tops, seas where he could dive for pearls. My lover’s words were shooting stars which fell to earth as kisses on these lips; my body now a softer…
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In Which I Cope With Life by Buying Books
Some people have practical reactions to stress. They go for a run. They clean their house. They garden. I, however, buy books. Actually, I buy books and eat sweets. My friends and family have been providing a steady stream of sweet treats since my husband was injured. In the last two weeks, we have been given multiple boxes of chocolate, lots of cookies, lemon bars, apple pie, flourless chocolate cake, carrot cake, and chocolate-covered fruit. Maybe I should go for a run instead of sitting on my couch and ordering more books. Maybe tomorrow… In the meantime, I have been doing an excellent job comforting myself with books as you…
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A Poem for a Thursday #4
AdPhoto by Siska Vrijburg on Unsplash Wislawa Szymborska was a Polish poet and essayist who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1996 among many other honors. An article in The New York Times described her as living “a life of quiet amazement, reflected in poems that are both plain-spoken and luminous.” This poem, a lovely description of the joy of writing, is a wonderful example of the imagination and deft touch evident in so much of her work. Why does this written doe bound these written woods? For a drink of written water from a spring whose surface will xerox her soft muzzle? Why does she lift her head; does she hear…
