Thursday, April 23, 2009

Poems for National Poetry Month


Although I love (some) poetry, I don’t read it very often. However, since April is National Poetry Month (which in Canada is sponsored by the League of Canadian Poets), I thought I would share one of my favourite poems with you, as well as mention a few other poems I’ve been introduced to by other bloggers this month. I was first introduced to Glen Sorestad’s poem “We Need These Silences” by a friend who is now also a blogger (Gigi at Solitary Spinster). Coincidentally, she sent me this poem on a “poem card” (a postcard with the poem printed on the front), which had been printed by the League of Canadian Poets to celebrate National Poetry Month in 2001.

Here is the poem:

We Need These Silences

the spaces that lie
between moments of sharing,
those times when it is
enough to feel the presence
of the other, the knowing
that this silence, too,
is a gift;

the silence of the mountains
or the dark forest,
or the plains at night,
reaching out to touch
some part of us
that craves time alone;

the moments before sleep,
or after waking, when the world
rises or falls into order,
finds shape and meaning
of its own.

We need these silences
as we need the words
we must first learn to say
and then forget
as we come to know
silence.

© Glen Sorestad. Reprinted with permission of the author.
From Leaving Holds Me Here: Selected Poems. Saskatoon: Thistledown Press, 2001.

Several other bloggers have reprinted poems on their blogs this month, introducing (or reintroducing) me to some great poems. Here are a few of my favourites (click on the poem title to read the poem):


Do you read poetry? What are some of your favourite poems?

5 comments:

  1. Wow,

    Totally forgot about that poem. Thanks for the reminder. :-)

    gigi

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  2. Hi Avis,

    I gave you an award.

    http://booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2009/04/i-am-honored.html

    Kristi

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  3. I've been participating in the poem-a-day challenge and posting my rough drafts on the blog.

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  4. I especially enjoyed "Waiting for my life"...I couldn't find "Numbers" at all...
    What a great idea to share favorite poems, and fave of other's faves!

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  5. Thanks for sending it to me, Gigi!

    Thank you, Kristi! I haven't forgotten to post about it; I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

    Serena, I was impressed at how diligent you were in completing that challenge! Writing one or more poems a day is quite a feat!

    Brogan, I'm perplexed as to why you couldn't find "Numbers" because the link works for me. Glad to hear you enjoyed this post!

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