Happy Easter Dear Readers!
Two poems for you to celebrate the resurrection of the world around us (both by poets who are new to me):
The first is a Northwest poet, Emily Warn. I heard her reading her poem “Hovering” from her book Shadow Architect on our local NPR station and fell in love with her use of language. Her book is based on the mystical character of the Hebrew letters.
Go take a listen (click on one of the links below “Listen to KUOW Presents”). The whole piece is just under five minutes, I enjoyed both hearing the poet read her poem and the unpacking of it that followed. My two favorite lines: “until the whole world is humming one song” and “this is a tangle of sweet pea vines and buzz.”
And the second poet is one who died a few years ago and a friend just recently introduced me to:
The Wild Cherry TreeWhy does the wild cherry tree
blooming
on the Hudson
make everything
more so
more itself?
So the green
of the elm is greener than
when it stands alone,
the sky
bluer.
So you
are one of those
who make others
more themselves
more what they
are!
Of those who draw them to
the extreme verge,
the edge
that crackles:
that is
your beauty:
that is what
you do.
-Hilda Morley, “The Wild Cherry Tree”
(photos of cherry blossom trees in Seattle)
© Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts:
Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts
2 Responses
“Of those who draw them to
the extreme verge,
the edge
that crackles:
that is
your beauty:
that is what
you do.”
amen and happy easter, friend!!
Beautiful poems, thank you Christine, and a happy Easter to you too.