Yesterday's Poem: If I Carry My Father by Marjorie Saiser
Only three days into my poem a day and already the journey is enlightening. I’m letting these poems find me: Flipping pages, browsing randomly, no particular direction or plan.
Both In Sum from two days ago and yesterday’s poem, If I Carry My Father, were found near the 10-year anniversary of my father’s death. But I didn’t realize this until I’d read and reread the poems. Then I read them again. I wonder what brought me to these poems at this time. Poetry has always been like this for me. The right poem at the right time. Just what I needed. Just when I needed it.
I found If I Carry My Father by Marjorie Saiser in the collection How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope, a gift from my sister Kay this past Christmas.
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Yesterday's Poem: Last Rites by Rosa Alcalá
Death. A part of everyday life. Yet we lack the language to talk about death, especially as it’s happening. Last Rites by Rosa Alcalá helps: “does lemongrass go with grief.”
This poem is about the tenderness of grief, the painful beauty of letting go. Read more about Rosa Alcalá.
Yesterday's Poem: In Sum by Rüstü Onur
Reading a poem a day in March (hopefully more than one somedays). I started the month with In Sum by Rüstü Onur, translated from Turkish by Hüseyin Alhas and Ulas Özgün. I found this brief, beautiful, melancholy poem in the March 2022 issue of Poetry. This poem, written to a mother, is about loss and what’s not left. You can read In Sum here.
Building a Library for Our New Granddaughter
We recently welcomed our new granddaughter to the world. Reading has been an important part of my life and was so important to us as parents. I'm planning to keep that practice of books and reading going with our grandchild. Share your favorite children's books. And I’ll be sure to list recommendations in a future blog post. Cheers and good reading to you!