Take this poem

Episode 122: The Dry Salvages

I offer you "The Dry Salvages" by T.S. Eliot. This is deep ocean, dear listeners! Come on in. 

The best part of creating this series was sitting down with others whose lives have been amended by going into that deep. Joining me at the mic this time is the convivial and keen-minded David Miller. Enjoy!

 

The bitter apple and the bite in the apple.

And the ragged rock in the restless waters,

Waves wash over it, fogs conceal it;

On a halcyon day it is merely a monument,

In navigable weather it is always a seamark

To lay a course by: but in the sombre season

Or the sudden fury, it is what it always was.

Episode 121: East Coker

I offer you "East Coker" by T.S. Eliot. This is the deep end, dear listeners! Come on in. 

The best part of creating this series was sitting down with others whose lives have been amended by going into that deep. Joining me at the mic this time is the bright, adventuresome, insightful Anna Danese. Enjoy.

 

I said to my soul, be still, and let the dark come upon you
Which shall be the darkness of God. As, in a theatre,
The lights are extinguished, for the scene to be changed
With a hollow rumble of wings, with a movement of darkness on darkness,
And we know that the hills and the trees, the distant panorama
And the bold imposing façade are all being rolled away—

Episode 120: Burnt Norton

I offer you "Burnt Norton" by T.S. Eliot. This is the deep end, dear listeners. Come on in!

The best part of recording this series was sitting down with others whose lives have been amended by going into that deep. Joining me at the mic this time is the articulate, generous, and perceptive teacher and reader Eliot Reasoner. Enjoy.

 

 

 Footfalls echo in the memory

Down the passage which we did not take

Towards the door we never opened

Into the rose-garden.

My words echo

Thus, in your mind.

But to what purpose

Disturbing the dust on a bowl of rose-leaves

I do not know.
Other echoes

Inhabit the garden. Shall we follow?

 

Episode 119: Housekeeping, an Announcement, and a Great Fall Poem by Hopkins

I give thanks and make a request.

I give a teaser about a momentous thing coming up on TTP.

I read "Spring and Fall" by Gerard Manley Hopkins.

It's a big 13 minutes!

Episode 118: Anna Reads Yeats and Stevens

This one is a gift from Anna Natzke-- my former student, a church friend, and a bright and lovely young writer.

 

I could not stop smiling when I listened to the file she sent! It's only a few minutes long, but you'll get a good idea of why it was such a joy to have a couple years in the classroom with her.

Anna reads and reflects on poems of peace and yearning:

"The House Was Quiet and the World Was Calm" by Wallace Stevens

"Lake Isle of Innisfree" by W.B. Yeats

 

Enjoy!

 

DELIGHTFUL FACT: When this TTP project was newborn, Anna's mama Amy came on (episode #35) to share the work of Ruth Pitter, a British poet who was a contemporary of CS Lewis and much admired by him.

https://takethispoem.podbean.com/e/episode-35-take-this-poet-ruth-pitter/

Episode 117: Mules of Love

Summer in our family is a time of many birth days. This poem is beautiful and sore, just like the real thing. 

"To My Daughter on Her 21st Birthday" by Ellen Bass 

Do let me know where YOU would place the emphasis in that line I puzzle over. 

(Archive) Episode 54: Less Fretting, More Feasting

When Love has you over for dinner, just sit down and hush! And eat. 

Today's poem is "Love III" by George Herbert. What a pleasure to read; I had to stop myself at twice. 

 

 

Episode 116: Look Upon the Ground With Listening Eyes-- Poems by Marie Burdett

Marie Burdett reads five of her wonderful poems for the TTP audience. This just might be the best 8 minutes of your day! 

They are: "Hindsight," "The Gravedigger," "The Gardener's Prayer," "Bluebell Valley," and "Mountain Fog."

If you want to re-listen, Marie's reading begins at 5:40.

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If you'd like to see more of what Marie is up to, here are links to some of her work and accomplishments! 

Her Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/marieburdettpoet/ 

A poem in Light Verse: https://lightpoetrymagazine.com/marie-burdett-winter-25/ 

A poem in Lucky Jefferson: https://luckyjefferson.com/april/ 

Indigenous Writer in Residency at Cranberry Lake: https://www.esf.edu/clbs/iwr.php 

Honorable Mention Deep Wild Journal: https://deepwildjournal.com/2025/04/23/our-2025-student-writing-contest-winners/ 

2nd place Porter Fleming Literary Competition https://www.themorris.org/porter-fleming-literary-competition/winners/ 

Blackberry Bramble 1st place https://www.orlando.gov/Our-Government/Mayor-City-Council/Buddy-Dyer/City-of-Orlando-Poet-Laureate/Words-and-Wonders-Winners/Words-and-Wonders-City-Life-vs.-Country-Life-Winners/First-Place-Blackberry-Bramble-by-Marie-Burdett 

The Nature of Our Times https://natureofourtimes.poetsforscience.org/pay-attention-to-the-pond/ https://natureofourtimes.poetsforscience.org/i-touched-a-cloud-on-mt-rainier/ https://natureofourtimes.poetsforscience.org/wekiwa/ 

 

 

(Archive) Episode 15: What Does a Six Year Old Love?

Another one I'm dusting off for young listeners. Enjoy! 

Eleanor finally entered the Closet Of Poetry with me and shared a few of her favorites.  All the poems she says in this episode are from memory, which helps explain the adorable botched limerick she busts out with at the end. Get the kids gathered 'round for this one!

(Archive) Episode 6: "If it ain't a pleasure it ain't a poem" Animal Poetry

I wanted to re-release this old episode for any new young listeners. It's one of my favorites. The nine-year-old interviewed here is now taller than I am. <3

 

My daughter Vivian shares some of her favorite funny poems from The National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry, which is a favorite around our household.