"The Final Say: Walt Whitman's Poetry" by Monty Gilmer

THE FINAL SAY: WALT WHITMAN'S POETRY

by Monty Gilmer

According to Mary Wilson Little, "There is a great deal of prose license in Walt Whitman's poetry."

As Lewis Mumford wrote, "People have hesitated to call Whitman's poems poetry; it is useless to deny that they belong to sacred literature."

Walt Whitman,

born on this day in 1819

"To What You Said" by Walt Whitman - Audio : The Poetry Foundation

Listen to a reading of an unpublished love poem by American poet Walt Whitman, who was born on this day in 1819: To What You Said - Audio

Walt Whitman : The Poetry Foundation

"Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret" : The King James Bible

     And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret. And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased; and besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.
     -- The Bible: Matthew 14:34-36 (King James Version)

"Lost" by Carl Sandburg : The Poetry Foundation

Read this poem by Carl Sandburg from the March 1914 issue of Poetry Magazine: Lost

Carl Sandburg : The Poetry Foundation

"The Pasture" by Robert Frost, 1874-1963 : Poets.org

I dedicate the poem "The Pasture" by Robert Frost to the memory of my father Hugh M. Gilmer (1914-2006), who was a farmer, and to the memory of my mother Evelyn M. Gilmer (1923-2016), who wanted to marry a farmer and who enjoyed being a farmer's, my father's, wife.

Robert Frost : Poets.org

"Soul-feeding Hyacinths" by Corinne Farley : Christ in Poetry

SOUL-FEEDING HYACINTHS
by Corinne Farley

Be with us, Lord, today,
And set us free
From foolish bickerings,
From cant and pettiness, the ugly things
That keep us less
Than Thou wouldst have us be;
Open our eyes that we may see
The Vision Beautiful,
And if we are enmeshed
In dreary labyrinths of everyday,
Grant us release,
And give us peace, O Lord;
An understanding sure and swift,
The very precious gift
Of loving insight. Help us to change
The bread and butter of monotony
Into soul-feeding hyacinths,
Fragrant with service; and until we take
The noblest, highest, truest way,
Let us not rest content;
And of our fellowship today
Help us to make
A joyous sacrament.


Source: Christ in Poetry (1952), an anthology compiled and edited by Thomas Curtis Clark and Hazel Davis Clark

Hyacinth

"Lost" by Maurice Lesemann : Poetry Magazine, June 1929 - Poetry Foundation

Read the inspirational poem "Lost" by Maurice Lesemann on pages 121-122 of the June 1929 issue of Poetry: A Magazine of Verse.:

"Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe : The Poetry Foundation

Because it was one of her favorite poems, I dedicate this poem by American poet and short-story writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) to the memory of my mother Evelyn M. Gilmer (1923-2016): "Annabel Lee"
    

Edgar Allan Poe : The Poetry Foundation

"Quatrains for a Calling" by Peter Cole : Poetry Maagazine

Read this poem by Peter Cole titled Quatrains for a Calling: "Why are you here? / [ . . . ]"

Peter Cole : The Poetry Foundation

"Three Builders" by Anonymous

THREE BUILDERS

Anonymous

"What are you doing?"

a man asked of three laborers

beside a building under construction.

The first man replied,

"Stone-cuttin'."

The second smiled. "Puttin' in time --

until a better job comes along."

The third man waited a moment

and then said simply,

"I'm building a cathedral!"


Source: One Thousand Inspirational Things (1948), compiled by Audrey Stone Morris

Cathedral of Saint John the Divine

"Haiku: 'In God We Trust'?" by Monty Gilmer

HAIKU: "IN GOD WE TRUST"?

by Monty Gilmer

G

O

D

L O V E S

Y

O

U

[Chi-Rho]:

a small cross among coins in

a purse. Trust in Him.

~~~~~~

The Chi-Rho symbol

Anonymous poem: "The True Gift" : Christ in Poetry

I dedicate this poem to the memory of my mother Evelyn M. Gilmer (1923-2016). She was devoutly Christian. "The True Gift," the author of which is anonymous, was one of her favorite poems.


THE TRUE GIFT
Anonymous

I gave a beggar from my scanty store
Of hard-earned gold. He spent the shining ore
And came again, and yet again, still cold
And hungry, as before.

I gave the Christ, and through that Christ of mine
He found himself, a man, supreme, divine,
Fed, clothed, and crowned with blessings manifold,
And now he begs no more.


Source: Christ in Poetry (1952), an anthology compiled and edited by Thomas Curtis Clark and Hazel Davis Clark

Chrysanthemum: An Anthology

A Poem a Day

"The Final Say: Giving Way" by Monty Gilmer

THE FINAL SAY
by Monty Gilmer

(Quotations I have paired up for comparison)

GIVING WAY
(The quotation from Tennessee Williams is
a found poem of mine.)

Anne Sexton wrote,
"From the Tamil, I read,
'The rock that resists the crowbar
gives way to the roots of the tender plant.'"

Tennessee Williams wrote,
"The violets in
the mountains
have broken the rocks."

The Final Say

"The Farm on the Great Plain" by William E. Stafford : Poetry Magazine

Read this poem by American poet William E. Stafford (1914-1993) and listen to a recording of him reading it: The Farm on the Great Plain

William E. Stafford : The Poetry Foundation

"The Cherry Trees" by Edward Thomas : The Poetry Foundation

Read this love poem, a quatrain, by Edward Thomas: The Cherry Trees

Edward Thomas : The Poetry Foundation

"Blue" by Sidney Wade : Poets.org

Blue is my favorite color. As English essayist, critic and reformer John Ruskin (1819-1900) wrote, "Blue colour is everlastingly appointed by the Deity to be a source of delight."

Read "Blue" by Sidney Wade and listen to a recording of her reading that poem of hers.

Chrysanthemum: An Anthology

Poetry

"The Colossus" by Sylvia Plath : The Poetry Foundation

Read the poem by Sylvia Plath titled The Colossus, which begins with the following line: "I shall never get you put together entirely,"

Sylvia Plath (1932-1963)
American poet
(Source of photo: The Poetry Foundation)

"Blackbird Etude" by A. E. Stallings : Poetry Magazine

Read this poem by A. E. Stallings: Blackbird Etude

A. E. Stallings : The Poetry Foundation

Sonnet 40: "Take all my loves, my love, yea, take them all" by William Shakespeare : The Poetry Foundation

Read this poem, Sonnet 40, by William Shakespeare: Sonnet  40: Take all my loves, my love, yea, take them all

William Shakespeare

"Digging" by Seamus Heaney - Poem of the Day : The Poetry Foundation

Listen to a recording of Irish poet Seamus Heaney reading this poem of his: Digging - Audio

Seamus Heaney

Anonymous poem: "Personal Translation"

PERSONAL TRANSLATION
Anonymous

I am my neighbor's Bible:
   He reads me when we meet.
Today he reads me in my house,
   Tomorrow in the street;
He may be relative or friend,
   Or slight acquaintance be;
He may not even know my name,
   Yet he is reading me.


Source: Words of Life (1966), edited by Charles L. Wallis

"To My Mother" by Wendell Berry : Poetry Magazine

I dedicate this poem by Wendell Berry to the memory of my mother Evelyn M. Gilmer (1923-2016). A few years ago I printed out a copy of this poem and gave it to her on Mother's Day. She enjoyed reading the poem.

Read "To My Mother" by Wendell Berry on page 14 of the October/November 1987 issue of Poetry magazine.

Wendell Berry : The Poetry Foundation

Photo by Dan Carraco

Vietnamese-American poet contemplates his personal ties to the war - Video

Watch as a young Vietnamese-American poet contemplates his personal ties to the war - Video

Vietnamese-American poet Ocean Vuong
(The Poetry Foundation)

"Mockingbird" by Judith Harris : The Poetry Foundation

In Chapter 10 of Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) Atticus Finch says, "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

Read this poem by Judith Harris: Mockingbird

Judith Harris : The Poetry Foundation

"The Vision of Sir Launfal" by James Russell Lowell : Bartleby.com

In his narrative poem "The Vision of Sir Launfal" James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) wrote, "Not what we give, but what we share -- / For the gift without the giver is bare; / Who gives himself with his alms feeds three -- / Himself, his hungering neighbor, and me."

My mother Evelyn M. Gilmer (1923-2016) once prayed, "O God, help us always to give of ourselves when we give to others. Keep us mindful that we are to be Your servants while we are here. Amen."

Read "The Vision of Sir Launfal" by James Russell Lowell (1819-1891).

James Russell Lowell circa 1855

"The Blessings of Brotherly Unity" : The King James Bible

THE BLESSINGS OF BROTHERLY UNITY
from the Bible: Psalm 133 (King James Version)

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious ointment upon the head,
That ran down upon the beard,
Even Aaron's beard:
That went down to the skirts of his garments;
As the dew of Hermon,
And as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion:
For there the Lord commanded the blessing,
Even life for evermore.

"Obedience" by George MacDonald (1824-1905)

Here is a poem by Scottish novelist and poet George MacDonald about what Christ said.

From "The May Queen" by Alfred Tennyson : Christ in Poetry

FROM "THE MAY QUEEN"
by Alfred Tennyson

He taught me all the mercy, for he show'd me all the sin.
Now, tho' my lamp was lighted late, there's One will let me in.


Source: Christ in Poetry (1952), an anthology compiled and edited by Thomas Curtis Clark and Hazel Davis Clark

Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892)