Library of Congress by Arthur Sze; Like Apple from Seed by Molly Johnsen; Sabbath XII by Wendell Berry; Under the Harvest Moon by Carl Sandburg 1878 –1967; Eyes Fastened with Pins by Charles Simic; From the Sky by Sara Abou Rashed (After Lorca: his poem: Farewell); What We Might Be, What We Are by X. J. Kennedy
I started with a few preliminaries:
1. I do encourage people to visit Rundel Library to see the amazing exhibit of the "Art of The Book".https://www.cityofrochester.gov/locations/central-librarys-anthony-mascioli-gallery-art-book-paper-exhibit
2. I mentioned "Hugs from Maine" https://ralstongallery.com/ Scroll down and you can subscribe. I cited Hieroglypic Stairway by Drew Dellinger. Listen to him read it here. Excerpt to mull over: it’s 3:23 in the morning/and I can’t sleep/because my great great grandchildren/ask me in dreams/what did you do while the earth was unravelling?
3. I read this poem: I do not mention the war in my birthplace to my 6 year old son but somehow he knows https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/158390/i-do-not-mention-the-war-in-my-birthplace-to-my-six-year-old-son-but-somehow-his-body-knows
Nutshell:
Library of Congress: 3 different people recommended this poem to me as soon as it was published in the New Yorker. The title asks that each word be examined: Library. Congress. Library as a place, yes, as a in "books"... but as Wade pointed out in the 3rd line, a million books breathe... shelves holding knowledge compiled, divined for us in turn to divine. Bernie pointed out the double meaning of adjective and verb.
Neil reiterated his feeling about seeing the poet, and himself, standing outside of oneself, looking into the depths of the enormous variety of things recorded, and how Sze captures the enormous diversity humans enjoy on this planet. Times change, and so do ways of cataloguing, reading, but regardless, a library is a haven, a place open to all, where delving into books, one delves into conversations with cultures and time periods and self-discoveries.
Sze mentions curators three times; I gave footnotes about the reference to the Neruda poem; the Chinese, the Vai script, Farsi, and Carolyn responded to the importance of calligraphy, and kufic script; how the hand is part of the craft of transmitting language and meaning dancing on the page. Sze brings in the senses -- a song, a scent, the marlin blue depth, the mulberry paper. Ending with the image of "no pear-blossom end" to what's within reach blooms with life and hope.
Like Apple from Seed: We noted the enjambments, and many identified with seeing the moon caught in trees, and think we could free it. As the curator of the poem says, "Stories themselves are like seeds in our lives; so much can grow from them. There is so much potential waiting inside.".
Sabbath XII by Wendell Berry. My question is how a poem escapes becoming a sermon. It is great to share the details: the 3 "ifs", the crafting of the 3rd stanza, "we will suffer alone, we will suffer/
Under the Harvest Moon by Carl Sandburg : sounds, the juxtaposition of the two stanzas with death and love. How to understand the word, "Mocker"? The lyricism carries us to feeling wrapped with Love and beautiful, unanswerable questions. Eddy brought up the tradition of the Chinese Harvest moon.
If I die,
Leave the balcony open.
The boy is eating oranges.
(From my balcony I hear him.)
The reaper scythes the wheat.
(From my balcony I feel it.)
If I die,
Leave the balcony open!
We ended with XJ Kennedy's delightful comic relief. How did he come up with that Balinese Goat?
Good to be able to laugh at ourselves!!!!
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