"Year's End" by Ellen Bryant Voigt : The Poetry Foundation

Today is New Year's Eve. Read Year’s End by Ellen Bryant Voigt : The Poetry Foundation

The Helpless Doorknob: A Found Poem

THE HELPLESS DOORKNOB: A FOUND POEM

by Monty Gilmer

(From The Helpless Doorknob: A Shuffled Story,

a pack of twenty cards featuring the finely detailed,
enigmatic art and text of Edward Gorey.

Adolphus in this story is a large, black dog,

black as melancholy.)

Agatha finished

Knitting a scarf

For Augustus.

Amanda wrote

A note

To Augustus.

Angus lost

A shoe

Not far from

The folly.

Albert left

For Peru.

Arthur's outdoor garments turned up

In a guestroom closet.

Agatha taught Adolphus

To dance the one-step.

Andrew came across

A horrid secret in

Adela's diary.

Adela flung

Angela's baby

From an upstairs window.

Adela became disoriented

At Alaric's funeral.

Angus inherited

The grandfather clock from Aunt Ada.

Alfred returned

From Novaya Zemlya.

Angus concealed

A lemon behind a cushion.

Alethea vanished

From a picnic.

A mysterious urn

Appeared in the grounds.

Amanda found

Several unfolded napkins

On a back shelf.

Agatha pedalled

To the neighbouring village

For help.

Andrew received a postcard

From Amaryllis.

Ambrose took an overdose

Of sarsaparilla.

A disguised person came to one

Of the side doors.

Adela could not find her way

Out of the woods.

"1 January 1965" by Joseph Brodsky : The Poetry Foundation

Read this poem by American poet and essayist Joseph Brodsky (1940-1996), who was born in Russia: 1 January 1965 by Joseph Brodsky : The Poetry Foundation

"Year's End" by Richard Wilbur : The Poetry Foundation

Read the poem Year’s End by Richard Wilbur : The Poetry Foundation

As American author Hal Borland (1900-1978) wrote, "Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us."

Richard Wilbur

American poet and translator;

poet laureate (1987-88)

"Paperwhites" by David Yezzi : The Atlantic Magazine

Read this poem that first appeared in the January/February 2015 issue of The Atlantic: Paperwhites by David Yezzi : The Atlantic Magazine

3 Christmas Carols from the Bible | Blog | American Bible Society News

Read 3 Christmas Carols from the Bible | Blog | American Bible Society News

"On Christmas Eve" by Nicholas Moore / December 1943 : Poetry Magazine

Today is Christmas Eve. Read "On Christmas Eve" by Nicholas Moore in this issue: December 1943 : Poetry Magazine

"Christmas Mail" by Ted Kooser : The Poetry Foundation

Read this poem: Christmas Mail by Ted Kooser : The Poetry Foundation

THE WISE STILL SEEK HIM

*

In this season

of warmth and tradition,

let us not forget Christ,

the reason behind our celebration

(Greeting from a Christmas card, 2015)

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" by Anonymous : The Poetry Foundation

According to American cartoonist Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000), "Christmas is hearing about those partridges and pear trees until you're ready to lose your mind." The following is a version of the traditional English carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas" that is somewhat different from the familiar version of it: The Twelve Days of Christmas by Anonymous : The Poetry Foundation

"[little tree]" by E. E. Cummings : The Poetry Foundation

Read this poem about a Christmas tree: [little tree] by E. E. Cummings : The Poetry Foundation
This poem is good for children.

"The Three Ships" by Alfred Noyes : Read book online

Read the Christmas poem "The Three Ships" by Alfred Noyes: http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/41874

"The Oxen" by Thomas Hardy : The Poetry Foundation

A widespread folk-belief is that cattle fall on their knees at midnight of Christmas Eve, as did the ox in the stable at Bethlehem when Christ was born. Here is a poem about that folk-belief: The Oxen by Thomas Hardy : The Poetry Foundation

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)

English novelist and poet

"The Puppy" by Wesley McNair : The Poetry Foundation

Read this poem by an American poet: The Puppy by Wesley McNair : The Poetry Foundation

"Who Steals My Good Name" by W. D. Snodgrass : Poetry Magazine

Read this poem: Who Steals My Good Name by W. D. Snodgrass : Poetry Magazine

"The Final Say: Third Sunday of Advent" by Monty Gilmer

Today is the third Sunday of Advent. Read Matthew 11:2-19 in The Holy Bible: King James Version.


THE FINAL SAY: DANCE
by Monty Gilmer

We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced;
we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.
     THE BIBLE:
     Matthew 11:17 (King James Version)

Pipers
piped unto ladies,
who danced.
     MONTY GILMER
     in Six-Word Memoirs, sixwordmemoirs.com

"Sonnet in the Shape of a Potted Christmas Tree" by George Starbuck : Poetry Magazine

Read Sonnet in the Shape of a Potted Christmas Tree by George Starbuck : Poetry Magazine

Merry Christmas!

George Starbuck (1931-1996)

American poet

"The Final Say: Discerning the Face of the Sky" by Monty Gilmer

THE FINAL SAY: DISCERNING THE FACE OF THE SKY

by Monty Gilmer

To the memory of my father
Hugh M. Gilmer (1914-2006),
who was a farmer

     Jesus said, "When it is evening, ye say, 'It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.' And in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering'" (The Bible: Matthew 16:2-3, King James Version).

     An anonymous, old weather rhyme reads:

     Evening red and morning gray

     Are the signs of a bonny day.

     Evening gray and morning red

     Bring down rain on the farmer's head.

"I'll tell you how the sun rose -- " by Emily Dickinson : Bartleby.com

Read this poem about a day: I'll tell you how the sun rose -- by Emily Dickinson : Bartleby.com
This poem is good for children.

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

American poet

"'Hope' is the thing with feathers - " by Emily Dickinson : The Poetry Foundation

American poet Emily Dickinson was born on this day in 1830. Read this poem of hers, a poem that is good for children: “Hope” is the thing with feathers - (314) by Emily Dickinson : The Poetry Foundation

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

Sonnet 7: "How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth" by John Milton : The Poetry Foundation

English poet John Milton was born on this day in 1608. Read this sonnet of his on his having arrived at the age of twenty-three: Sonnet  7: How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth by John Milton : The Poetry Foundation

"Pelicans in December" by J. Allyn Rosser : The Poetry Foundation

Read this poem that American poet J. Allyn Rosser wrote: Pelicans in December by J. Allyn Rosser : The Poetry Foundation

J. Allyn Rosser

"Look not in my eyes, for fear" by A. E. Housman

Lyric 15 from A Shropshire Lad (1896)

by A. E. Housman

Look not in my eyes, for fear

   They mirror true the sight I see,

And there you find your face too clear

   And love it and be lost like me.

One the long nights through must lie

   Spent in star-defeated sighs,

But why should you as well as I

   Perish? -- gaze not in my eyes.

A Grecian lad, as I hear tell,

   One that many loved in vain,

Looked into a forest well

   And never looked away again.

There, when the turf in springtime flowers,

   With downward eye and gazes sad,

Stands amid the glancing showers

   A jonquil, not a Grecian lad.

A. E. Housman (1859-1956)

English classical scholar and poet

(Photographed by E. O. Hoppe)

"What Can Advent Teach Us About Waiting on God?" | Blog | American Bible Society News

Today is the second Sunday of Advent. Read What Can Advent Teach Us About Waiting on God? | Blog | American Bible Society News


A poem for Advent from the King James Bible

(Isaiah 40:3, 52:10. Adapted by Monty Gilmer from
the hymn "Prepare the Way of the Lord")

Prepare ye the way
of the Lord, prepare the way
of the Lord, and all
the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.

"In the bleak midwinter" by Christina Rossetti : The Poetry Foundation

Read the Christmas poem "In the bleak midwinter" by Christina Rossetti, an English poet who was born on this day in 1830.

Read about this Christmas carol based on a poem by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894): "In the Bleak Midwinter"

Also read about the winter solstice.

"Day in Autumn" by Rainer Maria Rilke : Poetry Magazine

Read "Day in Autumn" by Rainer Maria Rilke, a German poet who was born on this day in 1875: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poem/181335

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Messianic Hope

The words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and of Isaiah the prophet (Isaiah 40:4-5 from the King James Bible) make up this found poem for Advent:

I have a dream that one day
Every valley shall be exalted,
And every mountain and hill shall be made low:
And the crooked shall be made straight,
And the rough places plain:
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together.


Note: I found this poem in and adapted it from the Rev. Dr. King's address at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington on August 28, 1963.

"The Singing" by Patrick Phillips : The Poetry Foundation

Read this poem about lullabies: The Singing by Patrick Phillips : The Poetry Foundation

"Song of the Oriental Poet" by Anonymous

SONG OF THE ORIENTAL POET

Anonymous

Spring is past,

Summer is gone,

Winter is here,

And my song that I was meant to sing

Is still unsung.

I have spent my days

Stringing and unstringing my instrument.

~~~

     It was about the poem above that Joyce Rupp wrote, "Whenever I read these lines a certain sadness enters my soul. I get so preoccupied with the details and pressure of my schedule, with the hurry and worry of life, that I miss the song of goodness which is waiting to be sung through me."