Take this poem

A poem that peers into the wrestling of a conflicted human heart. 

Holy Sonnet XIV by John Donne. 

Nothing ends more endingly than a "summer" together.

"Lost Garden" by Dana Gioia 

Even if that child is just yourself. 

"Rain" by Robert Lewis Stevenson

"Drippy Weather" by Aileen Fisher

"Spring Rain" by Marchette Chute

 

I first encountered these in Poems to Read to the Very Young edited by Josette Frank, illustrated by Eloise Wilkin

 

Bonus: "April Rain Song" by Langston Hughes 

I give you a poem I recently received: "Oregon Winter" by Jeanne McGahey. From the collection Winter Poems selected by Barbara Rogasky 

Take This Poem wakes up from a nap long enough to share "Holy Sonnet X" by John Donne. When despair and triumph live side by side in 14 lines, heat ensues, as well as iridescence. 

This one is not just read but also written by Keith Hansen...a reflection on a fraternal tussle that has now come to an end. 

I hope you'll listen to Muriel Rukeyser read her own poem! It's weird, funny, scary, true. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN-NaxSRN4E

 

 

In this episode I read three poems from The Art of Losing, an anthology edited by Kevin Young. 

"The Wake" by Rita Dove

"The Shout" by Simon Armitage

"Remember Me" by Hal Sirowitz

Keith Hansen brings us five poems from Michael Chitwood, whose work explores the Appalachian landscape of his youth. 

"Want"

"Catalytic Converter"

"Chicken" 

"Lakeside"

"Search and Rescue"  

I wrestled with this poem for a long time. I thought I would run out of winter before I was satisfied with a recording. 

But then it snowed here these last couple days, and it encouraged me to fix up the most recent attempt and just get it out to you.

Here you go: "October" by Louise Gluck. 

 

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I heard Gluck read this poem at the end of this interview:

https://yalepodcasts.blubrry.net/2021/03/09/nobel-laureate-louise-gluck-on-teaching-and-poetry/

It's the last ten minutes. However, the whole thing is excellent! This poet won almost every literary prize imaginable, including the Nobel Prize. Along with that, she taught poetry for many decades, and she considered her teaching to have fueled and inspired her work rather than draining it. She was greatly loved by students, and known for her passion, candor, and crankiness. She HATES poetry read aloud! Oopsies.