Poem: There is Nothing False in Thee

There is nothing false in thee.
In thy heat the youngest body
Has warmth and light.
In thee the quills of the sun
Find adornment.

What does not die
Is with thee.

Thou art clothed in robes of music.
Thy voice awakens wings.

And still more with thee
Are the flowers of earth made bright.

Upon thy deeps the fiery sails
of heaven glide.

Thou art the radiance and the joy.
Thy heart shall only fail
When all else has fallen.

What does not perish
lives in thee.

          Kenneth Patchen

 

 

 

 

 

Lost?

You are only lost
if you knew where you were going.

     Clifford Odets, Golden Boy

 

 

 

 

Recommendation

Years ago my mother used to say to me,
she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be,"
— she always called me Elwood —
"In this world, you must be
oh so smart, or oh so pleasant."
Well, for years I was smart.
I recommend pleasant.
You may quote me.

      Elwood P. Dowd in the movie Harvey

 

 

 

 

 

A little wind

O human race,
born to fly upward,
wherefore at a little wind
dost thou so fall?

     Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

 

 

 

 

Begin

The only joy in the world is to begin.
It is good to be alive
because living is beginning,
always, every moment.
When this sensation is lacking—
as when one is in prison,
or ill, or stupid,
or when living has become a habit—
one might as well be dead.

         Cesare Pavese, This Business of Living

 

 

 

 

Poem

Remember my little granite pail?
The handle of it was blue.
Think what's got away in my life—
Was enough to carry me thru.

              Lorine Niedecker

 

 

 

 

 

Greetings

How are you?
I am here only.
Thank God.

How’s the family?
They are there.
Thank God.

     Senegalese greeting