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| Photo from New York Daily News |
It seems only right to honor our new Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo, this week. You can read the New York Times article about Joy here.
"The Eagle"
To pray you open your whole self
To sky, to earth, to sun, to moon,
To one whole voice that is you.
And know there is more
That you can't see, can't hear;
Can't know except in moments
Steadily growing, and in languages
That aren't always sound but other
circles of motion.
Read the rest of the poem here.
"Perhaps the World Ends Here"
The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live.
The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on the table. So it has been since creation and it will go on.
We chase chickens or dogs away from it. Babies teethe at the corners. They scrape their knees on it.
It is here that children are given instructions on what it means to be human. We make men at it. We make women.
At this table, we gossip, recall enemies and the ghosts of lovers.
Our dreams drink coffee with us as they put their arms around our children. They laugh with us at our poor falling down selves and as we put ourselves back together once again at the table.
Read the rest of the poem here.
Linda Mitchell is hosting today's Poetry Friday Roundup.
"The world begins at a kitchen table."
ReplyDeleteI love that idea so much...and how she takes something so ordinary and spins it out to the ends of time and back.
Carol, I am glad that you shared Joy Harjo's poem about the kitchen table because she has lifted the ordinary to a place of honor. I think many homes have kept the kitchen table as a sacred place for families.
ReplyDeleteCarol, I had a hard time deciding between "Perhaps the World Ends Here," "The Eagle," and "Remember." So happy to see some of my favorites in your post.
ReplyDeleteI love that kitchen table poem. I think that's my favorite Harjo poem I've read so far.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing more of Joy Harjo's poetry Carol– I love her Kitchen table poem–so much you can sink your teeth into their!
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