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Thursday, July 8, 2010

POETRY FRIDAY



WELCOME!
Poetry Friday is here this week!
Here in Colorado!
Where we get to look
at the mountains
every single day.
(This one is Pikes Peak,
framed by Garden of the Gods)
Sometimes I forget
that everyone doesn't
get to open their eyes
to this every morning…
Come visit!

A couple of months ago,
I came across Jayne Jaudon Ferrer's "Your Daily Poem"
I've subscribed to lots of these kinds of websites
And to be really honest,
Usually I follow them for a month or two,
And then discontinue my subscription.
The poems are too long
or too obtuse
or too hard for me
to understand.
(I'm a simple gal, a single mom, with a job, and two teenage boys,
and two badly behaved labs and I don't have time for hard poetry).

But this site is different.
I love these poems
and the little note that comes with them.
I open the email pretty much every day.
I read them,
And savor them,
And give them to my friends.

This week, Jayne sent
"Prayer Chain" by Tim Nolan.
I loved it.
(It kind of reminds me of my all time
most favorite ever poems
Marge Piercy's "To Be of Use."
Lots of people know that poem.
So I won't share it today.
But in case you don't
You can read it here).

I love "Prayer Chain"
almost as much as "To Be of Use"
So I'm sharing part of it,
a couple of lines from the beginning,
and a couple from the middle,
and a couple from the end.
I especially love the end
(probably because my sons
play football
and are learning how to drive
and have girlfriends
and the older they get
the scarier the parenting
and the more I pray).
***************************************

Prayer Chain

My mother called to tell me
about an old classmate of mine who

was dying on the parish prayer chain--
or was very sick-- or destitute…

all the old mothers were praying intensely
for all the pain of their children…


I bet they have been praying for me at times--
so I'll find my way-- so I won't rob a bank

I'll take them-- the mystical prayers of old mothers--
it matters-- all this patient and purposeful love.

Tim Nolan
From The Sound of It (New Rivers Press, 2008).
This poem first appeared on The Writer's Almanac.


Enjoy this little bit then read the whole poem here.

Leave your link as a comment and I'll round them up throughout the day!


30 comments:

Charles Ghigna said...

Thanks, Carol! We appreciate your allowing us to feature "Poems About Poems for Children" now @ the FATHER GOOSE blog

Doraine said...

I'm posting early as I'm traveling all day on Friday. Some lines from Twelfth Night at http://dorireads.blogspot.com/

Thanks for hosting, Carol.

Amy L V said...

Carol, Thank you for your poetic post about YDP and that gorgeous photo! Today I'm celebrating 100 days of a-children's-poem-a-day at The Poem Farm with another Poetry Friday poem about....poems! Thank you for hosting.
Amy
http://poemfarm.blogspot.com/2010/07/poetry-friday-100-days-of-poem-farm.html

Tabatha said...

Hi Carol! I enjoyed Prayer Chain. I get the Writer's Almanac daily emails and almost always make time to read them. Thumbs up for the Marge Piercy poem, too :-)
I have a poem by Canadian poet/songwriter Leonard Cohen today: http://tabathayeatts.blogspot.com/

Stenhouse said...

This morning on the Stenhouse Blog we have The Secret Song by Margaret Wise Brown. Enjoy!

Diane Mayr said...

Thanks for the prayer chain poem--it reminds me of my aunt--her seniors group once went to the Atlantic City casinos and the ladies prayed the rosary on the bus ride!

At Random Noodling I've found a "Hot Tomato Haiku Contest" to enter.

Kurious Kitty looks at the anthology (for adults) Poems about Horses.

Kurious K's Kwotes has a quote by Thomas Hardy.

At The Write Sisters I share Robert Frost's "Come In."

Linda said...

Good morning Carol, thanks for hosting. I'm in today with poems I wrote as part of my daily poem writing month. Have a great weekend!
Linda
http://lindakulp.blogspot.com

all things poetry said...

Hi Carol,

Thanks for hosting! I'll be out most of the day, but I leave a post about Shakespeare's famous soliloquy at
http://teachpoetryk12.com/shakespeare/

Laura Evans

jama said...

What beautiful mountains, Carol! Thanks for the heads up about "Your Daily Poem."

Today I'm featuring "Silver-Lined Heart" by Taylor Mali:

http://jamarattigan.livejournal.com/443042.html.

Thanks for hosting and enjoy the weekend!

Mary Lee said...

Thanks for the mountains, Carol! Ahhhh....

I'll come back later and read (not just look) -- Franki and I are in Indianapolis for the NCTE WLU conference.

Here's my post:

http://readingyear.blogspot.com/2010/07/poetry-friday-i-learn-by-going-where-i.html

Irene Latham said...

"patient and purposeful love" -- mmmm, nice. Thanks so much for hosting! I'm in with a poem for summer: Carl Sandburg's "Back Yard." http://irenelatham.blogspot.com/2010/07/drinking-white-thoughts.html

Ruth said...

I'm in with some John Donne. Here.

Thanks for hosting.

Sally said...

Like that Tim Nolan poem you posted! PaperTigers is in today with a post on Canadian kids poetry book Eenie Meenie Manitoba:http://www.papertigers.org/wordpress/poetry-friday-eenie-meenie-manitoba/

Elaine Magliaro said...

Thanks so much for doing the roundup this week!

At Wild Rose Reader, I have an original poem titled "Things to Do If You Are the Ocean." I also have information about Salem, Massachusetts--the city where my daughter's wedding and reception will take place...tomorrow!

http://wildrosereader.blogspot.com/2010/07/things-to-do-if-you-are-ocean-original.html

Karen Edmisten said...

Thanks very much for hosting. I'm in today with a very short original poem. It's here.

Elaine Magliaro said...

I'm back!

At Blue Rose Girls, I have a poem by Stephen Dunn titled "The Kiss."

http://bluerosegirls.blogspot.com/2010/07/poetry-friday-kiss-by-stephen-dunn.html

Mandy said...

Thanks for hosting, I'm sharing a picture book, Once I Ate A Pie which I share a personal connection with. enjoy-embracelearning.blogspot.com

Looking for the Write Words said...

Hi Carol,

Many thanks ~ Colorado looks beautiful. Traveling out west is on my bucket list. I am with you on hard poetry! Life is complicated enough at times...praying for the safety of our children. I started to say teenagers, but the worrying and praying doesn't end after the teen years. Here is my simple list poem "Blue Sky Days"
~Theresa

Little Willow said...

Thank you for doing the roundup this week!

I posted an Emily Dickinson poem at Bildungsroman.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for hosting! I'm in with a review of Maybe I'll Sleep in the Bathtub Tonight by Debbie Levy. Here's the link: http://kellyrfineman.livejournal.com/581297.html

Janet S. said...

My offerings is a book written by poet, Allan Wolf, and illustrated by Tuesday Mourning, titled Immersed in Verse: an informative, slightly irreverent and totally tremendous guide to living the poet's life. This book works equally well as an introduction to poetry writing for the novice or as an inspiration for young poets grades 5-8.

MotherReader said...

MotherReader is in with a review of a Picture/Poetry book, Bella & Bean at

http://www.motherreader.com/2010/07/poetry-friday-bella-bean.html

Jayne Jaudon Ferrer said...

Thanks so much for passing along Tim's wonderful poem, Carol, and for the nice words about Your Daily Poem. You are exactly the reader I hope will be served by YDP, and I'm so glad to hear it's meeting your "poetic" needs.

Priya said...

Thanks for hosting the roundup! At my blog, I've posted an original poem titled "Lighthouse":

http://priyaganesan.blogspot.com/2010/07/lighthouse.html

Heidi Mordhorst said...

Nice to meet you, Carol,and thanks for the mountains.

I'm enjoying poems set to music from Natalie Merchant's album Leave Your Sleep, especially e.e. cummings's "maggy and milly and molly and may".

Jeni said...

Thank you, Carol! I really enjoyed "Prayer Chain" (and could imagine various members of my family having been on the prayer chain for my grandmother's church at one time or another).

I have an original poem at my blog: http://jeniwrites.livejournal.com. Thank you! Jeni Bell

Ben Curran said...

Thanks for sharing these poems, Carol. I was just in Colorado last week, so your photo was a great reminder of an awesome trip.

I've just started blogging about poetry this month, trying to rev up for the upcoming school year. Today I posted about a favorite poem collection of mine: http://thesmallnouns.blogspot.com/2010/07/poetry-book-review-time-you-let-me-in.html

Thank you for posting.

Ben

Joe Sottile said...

I love the YDP site. It's an important part of my morning. I also agree that "I read them (the daily poems), And savor them, And give them to my friends." Like good poetry, they always get a reaction out of me--food for thought or laughter.

Thank you, Jayne, for an inspirational treat each day.

Andromeda Jazmon said...

Thanks for that beautiful mountain photo Carol! And that Tim Nolan poem makes me cry. I have a son who is 22 so I am very familiar with how mothers pray together for each other's children. It is true and also very effective.

I am posting late for Friday but early for Saturday! I have a haiku & poem from the 4th of July holiday @ A Wrung Sponge. Thanks for hosting!!

Jone said...

Here's mine:http://maclibrary.wordpress.com/2010/07/10/poetry-friday-a-day-late/
Very late now since I posted the comment and then di not leave the link.
Are those photos of sunset from your house? Beautiful.