Work in Progress

Here's a poem I'm still working on, but it's pretty relevant for the Easter season.  Thoughts?

“I saw him” said the blind man
“he knew about my sin” said a well known sinner, surprised.
and the rumors of a king began to be whispered
Sure, you’ve had presidents before
you’ve had governors and mayors and mothers and husbands or wives
but have  you had a king?
have you stood out under the reign of a king?
On the day he arrived
on a mighty stead
or was it a baby donkey?
it was a day when
palm readers and
palm weavers become
palm wavers in streets
throwing words they’d been saving in jars
for the day when a king would arrive
and when people laid down their reign coats
clearing the way for a new head of state
and really a king is a thing like no other being
the only one who can double jump backward
the one who’s winning any game of foursquare
defended by queens and bishops and pawns
this is no burger king
he’s a bread and wine king
a fish and loaves king
he’s a spit and mud king
a suffer and die king

The Best of It

Today it was announced that one of my favorite poets, Kay Ryan, won the Pulitzer prize for Poetry this year for her book  The Best of It.   I wrote a review a few months ago but never posted it.  Here are my thoughts, but don't take my word for it.

The Best of the Best

Review of Pulitzer Prize winning "The Best of It"  by Kay Ryan

It may be cliche to say, but Kay Ryan’s poetry is perfect for people who do not prefer poetry.  Her verses are both accessible and illusive, thinking for us thoughts that most of us never would have thought without her help.  It is perhaps for this reason that she was given the post of US Poet Laureate in 2008, and her newest collection, The Best of It does not disappoint.  

Somewhat thick for a book of poetry, The Best of It feels like a course in the beauty of the English language and the power of just a few words in the right order.  The subject matter is as broad as it is deep, covering a range of animal and human behavior, in addition to history and geography.  In one stanza from A Certain Meanness of Culture (pg. 64), we read:  “What else can we do, born on deserts occupied haphazardly by borax traders aspiring to a stucco elegance if they’re real lucky?”  I feel as though she is referring to my own neighborhood and at the same time to a place I have never imagined before.  Bitter Pill (pg. 18) is a masterpiece of human understanding, causing us to reassess the meaning of an old idiom in only thirteen short lines.

One aspect of Ryan’s work that elevates it beyond common poetry is her rhyming.  Neither overt nor obtrusive, she rhymes words inside lines when we least expect it, letting the flow of her free verse carry us.  And we cannot help but drift with a smile as we float through what is truly, the best of it. 

House Studio Post

The house studio blog posted an article I wrote here about poetry (sort of)  swing by and check them out!

Billy Collins on NPR

Two more of my favorite things, combined!  You can listen here, and I suggest you do!!