Holds Upon Happiness

Emily Dickinson was a prolific poet who regularly enclosed poems in the letters she wrote to her friends. After her death, her family found forty handbound volumes containing some 1,800 poems. She is described as writing in a “keen observational tone” and she “sought to describe the intangible elements of life.” If you were coming in the Fall,I'd brush the Summer byWith half a smile, and half a spurn,As Housewives do, a Fly.If I could see you in a year,I'd wind the months in balls---And put them each in separate Drawers,For fear the numbers fuse---If only Centuries, delayed,I'd count them on my Hand,Subtracting, til my fingers droppedInto Van Dieman's Land,If…

It has been ages since I have featured a poem by Billy Collins. That is a pity because I like almost everything he has written. I saw this quote about Collins’ poetry and I agree: “Rarely has anyone written poems that appear so transparent on the surface but become so ambiguous, thought-provoking, or simply wise once the reader has peered into the depths.” If there is only enough time in the final minutes of the twentieth century for one last danceI would like to be dancing it slowly with you,say, in the ballroom of a seaside hotel.My palm would press into the small of your backas the past hundred years…

Joyce Sutphen served as Minnesota’s poet laureate from 2011-2021. Her first book, Straight Out of View, won the Barnard New Women’s Poets Prize. She has gone on to win many other prizes and honors and has been featured on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion. One day, something very oldhappened again. The greencame back to the branches,settling like leafy birdson the highest twigs;the ground broke openas dark as coffee beans.The clouds took up theirpositions in the deep stadiumof the sky, gloving the bright orb of the sunbefore they pitched itover the horizon.It was as good as ever:the air was filledwith the scent of lilacsand cherry blossomssounded their longwhistle down the…

Gerald Stern was an American poet, essayist, and educator. He wrote 20 volumes of poetry and 4 volumes of essays. His work is described as “Cosmopolitan, even international in scope, and yet deeply personal” and “known for its passionate defense of human emotions and needs.” What would you give for one of the old yellow streetcarsrocking toward you again through the thick snow?What would you give for the feeling of joy as you climbedup the three iron steps and took your place by the cold window?Oh, what would you give to pick up your stack of booksand walk down the icy path in front of the library?What would you give…