A Passover poem about the presence of God at the Seder:
Palpably, You are in this room, A presence just as certain as our own, Singing with us -- family friend, well-known -- Someone, not just something we assume. One can know You only intimately. Vast as You are, You fit into our home. Every tick of life we're not alone, Rejoicing in a love we feel and see.
A poem for Arbor Day about the value of uncut trees:
As you hike through public
land Reserved for public good, Be aware that public air Outbids the price of wood. Remember life is brief, is
fragile, Dangling in a breeze, As you breathe in oxygen You owe to uncut trees.
A poem for Eid al-Fitr, which occurs at the end of Ramadan,
about faith as a journey rather than a visitation.
Estimated wait time is
forever. In faith, The Moment
neither comes nor goes. Does one dress one's
thoughts in what seems clever, Allowing for a frequent
change of clothes? Let love translate for your
timeless soul. Faith's a journey, not a
visitation. If one would risk a purpose
and a role, Then one should live by
love's interpretation, Rendering each partial person whole.
A Philosophical Number Poem for Someone Who Has Devoted
His Life to Social Change
Thirty-four’s devoted to a dream, Hard at work each day to make it real. If what-is-not’s not easy to conceive, Requiring an acolyte to weave Tapestries that catch its look and feel, Yet such labors are what make it gleam.
For art must open what faith tends to seal, Open to make flesh what one believes, Unafraid to be, and not just mean, Rich precisely where ideas are lean.
An Easter friendship poem about the limits of friendship:
Here are festive flowers for your room, A spray of springtime on your bare night table: Placed upon a place within your view, Placed where best to light your harried heart. Yet my blossoms can’t dispel your gloom, Even were they many times more able. All that gifts from loving friends can do Sings just one unaccompanied inner part. The music cannot come from aught but you, Evangelist beside the empty tomb, Rejoicing in the grace of life and art.
I have decided to resurrect my former blog, Poem of the Day, as Poem of the Week, publishing each week a different poem from my website, Poems for Free (https://www.poemsforfree.com).
This week, the Poem of the Week is a number poem for a woman who both embraces her feminine role
and at the same time dreams of one less self-sacrificing:
Seventy-three suspends her animation, Eloping for a moment with a dream, Vividly devouring each sensation, Each image that means more than it can mean. Nor can her love reality redeem. Time moves on, and she comes back to life, Yearning for the woman in the wife.
The love of husband, children, grandchildren, Has been a garden long and faithfully tended, Resulting in a peaceful, well-earned beauty, Enduring pleasure she would not want ended, Embrace she chooses out of more than duty.
A get-well-soon poem for someone who has recently come through surgery:
Given the fragility
of life,
Each of us remains a miracle,
Though new emerged from some bright sea of pain.
When every second feels just like a knife
Entering the soft flesh of the will,
Life whispers soon we will be well again.
Linger, then, along the edge of shade;
Soon enough you will be in the sun,
Open-armed, erect, and unafraid.
Old wounds remind us of fierce battles won,
Nor will our patient faith not be
repaid.
Note: Google has decided to discontinue Feedburner, the free service that sends you this daily email. At the age of 80, I have decided that this would be a good time for me to discontinue the Poem of the Day. This will be the last Poem of the Day email.
It has been a pleasure sending out, first, the Poem of the Week and later the Poem of the Day for nearly a quarter century. Thank you for being a subscriber and best wishes to you all,
I am a poet and webmaster of Poems for Free (http://www.poemsforfree.com). All of my poems may be used free for any personal or non-commercial purpose.
