- On the Brink
On the brink, the brim, the cusp—of a new year, a new day, a new administration.
We inaugurated a new president January 20, 2009. People everywhere are filled with a sense of hope and the expectation of change for the good.
In case you missed the poetry reading by Inaugural Poet Elizabeth Alexander, a professor at Yale University and an acclaimed poet, essayist, and playwright, it is reprinted below for your enjoyment. - Over the Moon
I asked if anyone had a favorite moon poem. An honest reader posted a comment that it was Hey Diddle Diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the best part being the cow jumped over the moon.
- Moon Verse
Do you take notice when the full moon appears to be extremely large? That is called the perigee moon, or point of closest approach to earth, and it makes the super-sized moon appear stunningly beautiful in the night sky—it really gets our attention.
- Snow Poetry and ProseA Patch of Old Snow
(Robert Frost, 1874–1963)
There's a patch of old snow in a corner
That I should have guessed
Was a blow-away paper the rain
Had brought to rest.
It is speckled with grime as if
Small print overspread it,
The news of a day I've forgotten--- Desert or Deserted?
Desert Places
(Robert Frost, 1874–1963)
Snow falling and night falling fast, oh, fast
In a field I looked into going past,
And the ground almost covered smooth in snow,
But a few weeds and stubble showing last.
The woods around it have it—it is theirs.
All animals are smothered in their lairs.
I am too absent-spirited to count;
The loneliness includes me unawares.
And lonely as it is that loneliness- Storm or Circumstance?
Spellbound(Emily Brontë, 1818–1848)
The night is darkening round me,
The wild winds coldly blow;
But a tyrant spell has bound me
And I cannot, cannot go.
The giant trees are bending
Their bare boughs weighed with snow.
And the storm is fast descending,
And yet I cannot go.
Clouds beyond clouds above me,
Wastes beyond wastes below;- On Looking Up by Chance at the Constellations
On Looking Up by Chance at the Constellations
(Robert Frost, 1874–1963)
You'll wait a long, long time for anything much
To happen in heaven beyond the floats of cloud
And the Northern Lights that run like tingling nerves.
The sun and moon get crossed, but they never touch,
Nor strike out fire from each other nor crash out loud.
The planets seem to interfere in their curves
But nothing ever happens, no harm is done.- Toys 'n' Trucks
I was surprised at the response to Barn Tales, my recent blog entry about wooden toys. Silver Planet members sent in comments, and personal emails gathered in my office in-box from friends who wanted to educate me on the value of delightful wooden toys. I learned all sorts of neat things.
- Poet Quiz
Many years ago, one of my favorite American poets was a resident of the small town I grew up in, Methuen, Massachusetts. He taught in the school system there before I was born. He also studied at Dartmouth and Harvard but left before achieving a degree.
- Only God Can Make a Tree
Gold and rust and shades of red—shimmering imitations of reality reflected in a pond. Trees dressed in autumn colors from various back roads of New Hampshire and ‘round about the dusty mountain trails of Colorado.
Enjoy the photo and Kilmer’s oft-quoted poem about trees. . . .
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