Poem of the Week

September 20, 2012 #703

Dear Subscriber:

This week’s poem of the week is a poem for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

You can hear me read the poem and listen to the music for it at my site by going to http://www.poemsforfree.com/week.html .

Yours,

Nick Gordon

You cannot be the person you might wish,
Opening the door to who you are.
Morning comes alike to fowl and fish,
Kindled by a mystery from afar.
In you there is a music all your own
Pouring through the sluices of your heart,
Passionate with love as you atone,
Unmoored from self by ritual and art,
Restored to some bright whole not yours alone.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Note: For those of you in or near Vermont, a musical setting by Michael Isaacson of one of my poems, “The Seven Deadly Sins,” will be performed by Robert De Cormier and his chorus, “Counterpoint,” with pianist Diane Huling, on October 11 at 7:30 PM at the Bethany Church, 115 Main St, in Montpelier, Vermont.

Poem of the Week

September 13, 2012 #702

Dear Subscriber:

This week’s poem of the week is a poem for Rosh Hashanah.

You can hear me read the poem and listen to the music for it at my site by going to http://www.poemsforfree.com/week.html .

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Remember as you scour your soul for sin,
Opening the doors behind your lies,
Searching every room with ruthless eyes,
However much you see, there's more within.
How might you else then but through faith atone,
Aware not every debt will be repaid,
Suspecting with good cause some were mislaid,
Harboring some that aren't yours alone?
All sins belong to all, as well to you,
Nor can you cleanse yourself in isolation.
All are good or evil in relation,
Having all to pay what debts accrue.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Poem of the Week

September 6, 2012 #701

Dear Subscriber:

This week’s poem of the week is an anniversary poem.

You can hear me read the poem and listen to the music for it at my site by going to http://www.poemsforfree.com/week.html .

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Nineteen years now we have been together.
It's been a long apprenticeship in love.
Need endures, regardless of the weather,
Ever one thing we are certain of.
Time turns into space, as though the years
Evolved into a country all our own,
East of troubles, faults, frustrations, fears --
Neighbors we must face, but not alone.
Yearning is a kind of innocence,
Even as the world gives up its glow.
All the wisdom of experience
Refrains from censuring this common sense,
So beautiful one cannot let it go.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Poem of the Week

August 30, 2012 #700

Dear Subscriber:

This week’s poem of the week is a poem for Labor Day.

You can hear me read the poem and listen to the music for it at my site by going to http://www.poemsforfree.com/week.html .

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Let unions bear some blame for their demise.
All were not corrupt, but far too many
Blessed the criminals and kissed their rings,
Organized to serve only themselves.
Remember what is lost when something dies
Despite the need for it. There isn't any
Alternative to what true union brings –
Yearning that with shared resolve rebels.

© by Nicholas Gordon

August 23, 2012 #699

Dear Subscriber:

This week’s poem of the week is a poem about angels and death.

You can hear me read the poem and listen to the music for it at my site by going to http://www.poemsforfree.com/week.html .

Yours,

Nick Gordon

My father's angel is 21 years old.
Not that it matters – angels have no age.
Even so, I wonder: What is he thinking?
What is he seeing? What does he remember?

Perhaps he is clairvoyant. Perhaps the old
Man whom I saw through the Buchenwald of age
Is now pure soul, beyond the need for thinking,
One with One, with nothing to remember.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Poem of the Week

August 16, 2012 #698

Dear Subscriber:

This week’s poem of the week is a poem for Eid al-Fitr.

You can hear me read the poem and listen to the music for it at my site by going to http://www.poemsforfree.com/week.html .

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Every moment equally is holy.
In Ramadan, we recognize it more.
Days of fasting preach throughout the body;
Appetite obeys a higher law.
Let us now return to the mundane
Fortified by what we have enjoyed,
In lives neither prophetic nor profane,
Toiling daily, gainfully employed,
Restored by holiness, our spirits buoyed.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Poem of the Week

August 9, 2012 #697

Dear Subscriber:

This week’s poem of the week is an angel, number, and birthday poem.

You can hear me read the poem and listen to the music for it at my site by going to http://www.poemsforfree.com/week.html .

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Sing as though a choir of angels near
Immersed you in the beauty of their song!
Xylophones accompany the throng,
Though trumpets might be easier to hear.
Yet we must use the letters of the year.

Fear not that your voice will be too strong!
Offer them your music, loud and clear!
Understand that angels hold you dear,
Rejoicing as in joy you sing along.

© by Nicholas Gordon