Fragments of Poetry 21

"... the pine trees 
were brushing themselves
against the sky
as though they were painting it, ..."


excerpt from the poem: "Thinking of Swirler" 
from the book: Evidence by Mary Oliver © 2009


You may also enjoy: 

Fragments of Poetry 20 ~ February 28, 2018

Fragments of Poetry 19 ~ November 28, 2016



Photo Location: Buena Vista, Colorado

Fragments of Poetry 20

"Maybe

the desire

to make

something

beautiful

is the piece

of God

that is inside

each of us."

from the poem "Franz Marc's Blue Horses" by Mary Oliver

from her book: Blue Horses - © 2014  (p. 43)


Photo Location: Cannonsburg State Game Area / Hiking Project - Cannonsburg, Michigan 



You may also enjoy:

Fragments of Poetry 17 ~ Nov. 13, 2017

Fragments of Poetry 16 ~ Sept. 29, 2016

Fragments of Poetry 18

"But see,
over there, like a
green wound in the shoulder
of the hill, like a new patch
in the quilt,
blazes a square of quite
improbable emerald.
With what audacity
the bright velvet assaults
our autumn senses:
each blade a reversal
of seasons, its upstart shoot
flagging the brief sun bursts,
the sap juicing to its tip,
ready, now, in November,
for the new year!"

~ from: "Winter Wheat" by Luci Shaw in Polishing the Petoskey Stone © 1990  p.125

You may also enjoy: 

Fragments of Poetry 16 - September 29, 2016

Fragments of Poetry 15 - February 8, 2016


Photo Locations: Oakfield Township - Kent County, Michigan 

Fragments of Poetry 19

"... the grass.

it anchors sand in place,
then names itself,
signing landscape

by bending in a gentle curve,
swaying half-circles, penning
a transitory letter..." 


from the poem: "Meditation On Creation" by Anne-Marie Oomen 
in:  Seasons of the Sleeping Bear  p.22



Photo Location: Whitefish Point Bird Observatory - Lake Superior - Paradise, Michigan 


You may also enjoy previous "Fragments"...

Fragments of Poetry 16 - September 29, 2016

Fragments of Poetry 15 - February 8, 2016

Fragments of Poetry 17

"From the marshy cove
the bullfrog offers thoughts
on the proper limits of ambition."

~ from the poem: "Camp Evergreen"

~ from the book: Jane Kenyon - Collected Poems p. 110


You may also enjoy previous "Fragments"...

Fragments of Poetry 15 - Feb. 8, 2016

Fragments of Poetry 14 - Oct. 24, 2014 

Fragments of Poetry 13 - Oct. 6, 2014 



Photo Location: Pickerel Lake Park / Fred Meijer Nature Preserve 

Fragments of Poetry 15

"How astonishing it is
when some floating sense of exaltation
or desperation sharpens into
a phrase that bursts uninvited,
into consciousness, ... and soon
this little jewel of a thing is born
and grows up to be a poem."

~ Luci Shaw - from: What the Light Was Like © 2006



You may also enjoy:

Fragments of Poetry 14 ~ October 24, 2014

Fragments of Poetry 12 ~ February 12, 2014

Fragments of Poetry 9 ~ May 9, 2013


Jewelweed - Impatiens pallida~ Photography by Richard Havenga

Fragments of Poetry 14

"When I rise up
let me rise up joyful
like a bird.

When I fall
let me fall without regret
like a leaf."

Excerpt from: "Prayers and Sayings of a Mad Farmer" 
- New Collected Poems by Wendell Berry  (Wendell Berry) p. 149  © 2012



You may also enjoy other "Fragments of Poetry" by:

William Stafford - December 16, 2012, and Mary Oliver - August 18, 2012



Photo Locations:

1. Wood Thrush - Home Woods

2. Sugar Maple leaf - Fallasburg Park  (Fallasburg) Page Creek , Kent County, Michigan

3. Silver Maple leaf - Grand River, (Grand) Kent County, Michigan (Michigan) 

Fragments of Poetry - 13

"Watching the black grackle

come out of the gray shade

into the sun, I am dazzled

by an unsuspected sheen,

yellow, purple, and green,

where the comb of light silkens

unspectacular wings--"

"A Grackle Observed" Alive Together - New and Selected Poems by Lisel Mueller © 1996 (Mueller)

Click on "Fragments of Poetry" in my "TOPICS" section to read other poets. 

Or, click on these most recent "Fragments of Poetry" dates:

Fragments of Poetry 12: February 28, 2014 
Fragments of Poetry 11: January 13, 2014 
Fragments of Poetry 10: September 19, 2013 
Fragments of Poetry  9: May 13, 2013 


CLICK on photo to enlarge.

Boat-tailed Grackle - Quiscalus major

Photo Location:  Lakes Park, Fort Myers,  (Fort Myers) Florida (Florida) 

Fragments of Poetry 12

Winter dawn is the color of metal,
the trees stiffen into place like burnt nerves.




From: "Waking in Winter" by Sylvia Plath - (Collected Poems) © 1981 - Ed. Ted Hughes 



Photo Location:  Kent County,  Michigan

Fragments of Poetry 11

"The Wild Rose"  by Wendell Berry

Sometimes hidden from me
in daily custom and trust,
so that I live by you unaware
as by the beating of my heart,

suddenly you flare in my sight,
a wild rose blooming at the edge
of thicket, grace and light
where yesterday was only shade,

and once more I am blessed, choosing
again what I chose before.

This post is dedicated to my loving wife, Mary.

The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry  ©  1998


Photo Location:

Kent County,  Michigan

Wild Rose/Swamp Rose - Rosa palustris

Fragments of Poetry 10

"To the abandoned fields
The trees returned and grew.
They stand and grow. Time comes
To them, time goes, the trees
Stand; the only place
They go is where they are.
These wholly patient ones
Who only stand and wait
For time to come to them,
Who do not go to time,
Stand in eternity.
They stand where they belong.
They do no wrong, and they
Are beautiful. What more
Could we have thought to ask?
Here God and man have rest."  *

* from poem: "Sabbaths 2000 - IX " from: Given - Poems by Wendell Berry  © 2005


Photo Location: Planada, California

Fragments of Poetry 9

"Then the wind
         fluttered its wrists, a
                sweet music as usual,

though as usual I could not tell
         whether it was about caring or not caring
              that it tossed itself around, in the boughs of light,
                   and sang."




Fragment from the poem: "So"  written by Mary Oliver from the collection:  West Wind  © 1997


You may also enjoy:  Fragments of Poetry 8:  March 28, 2013 
                                     Fragments of Poetry 7:  January 25, 2013 


(Click on photo to enlarge)

Photo Location:  Thornapple River,  Cascade Township,  Kent County,  Michigan

Fragments of Poetry 8

When mornings and evenings roll along,
watch how they open and close, how they
invite you to the long party that your life is.

-William Stafford

Poem:  "A Valley Like This" 

Collection:  Even In Quiet Places  © 1996  by The Estate of William Stafford  (Stafford)





Photo Locations:

1.  La Jolla,  (La Jolla)  California

2. Kauai,  (Kauai)  Hawaii

Fragments of Poetry 7

It is early December and ice
has formed again on the lake.

I sit and watch the twilight

fade away without notice

like a widow who has outlived

her sympathy.  - Dan Gerber

(Click on photo to enlarge) 

excerpt from poem: "Sunset on a Cloudy Day"

from collection:   A Last Bridge Home  (Bridge)  by Dan Gerber   c 1992


Photo Location:  Mc Carthy Lake,  Kent County,  Michigan


View previous "Fragments of Poetry":

May 1,  May 13,  July 19,  Aug. 18,  Nov. 13,  Dec. 16

Fragments of Poetry 6

"The land rolls out its own magnificence,
and you inherit whatever your eyes
can prove by their glance
that they're worthy of." - William Stafford














from poem:  "You, Reader"

from collection:  My Name is William Tell   c 1992



(Click on photo to enlarge)

Photo Location:  Absoroka Range,   Pray,   Montana  (Montana)


View previous "Fragments of Poetry":

May 1,   May 13,    July 19 ,   Aug. 18,   Nov. 13 

Fragments of Poetry 5

 

look
how it
stands straight on its
thin stems

how it

scrubs its white faces

with the

rays of the sun 

how it

makes all the

loveliness

it can. 

excerpt  from: "Passing the Unworked Field"  by Mary Oliver

from collection: Swan   Swan c 2010

 Queen Anne's Lace  (Daucus carota)

View posts:  Fragments of Poetry 4 , Fragments of Poetry 3 ,

                          Fragments of Poetry 2,  Fragments of Poetry. 

Photo Location:  Tiffany Avenue,  Kent County,  Michigan

(Click on photos to enlarge)





Fragments of Poetry 4

About tomorrow, who knows anything.
Except that it will be time, again,
for the deepening and quieting of the spirit.



















Excerpt from Mary Oliver Poem: "Swimming One Day in August"
From collection:  Red Bird  (Red Bird) c 2008

Purchased: Fact & Fiction (Fact & Fiction) - Missoula,  Montana

Photo Location:  Grand Traverse Bay,  Traverse City (Traverse City),  Michigan

Fragments of Poetry 3

The way the river water rushes by, never to return.
The way the days go by, never to return.
The way somebody comes back, but only in a dream.








From:

"We Should Be Well Prepared"               by Mary Oliver    

from collection:  Red Bird  (Red Bird)   c  2008




Photo Location:

Blackfoot River, (Blackfoot River)  (east of) Missoula,  Montana

Fragments of Poetry 2

The following excerpt is from  Red Bird (c 2008) (Red Bird) by Mary Oliver, from her poem: "Of Goodness"

How good
that the clouds travel, as they do,
like the long dresses of the angels
of our imagination...






Photo Location: Tin Cup, Colorado


(COLORADO)

Red Bird purchased from:
Fact & Fiction Bookstore
Missoula, Montana

Fragments of Poetry

Occasionally, I will share with you the work of a few of my favorite Poets. I've been collecting excerpts for many years. Collecting could mean underlining in a book of collected poems, or I may quote them in my Journal entries.

Today I will highlight William Stafford. Particularly, An Oregon Message c 1987.

The pieces I have chosen help support my intentions for this "Walk With Father Nature" blog:

To be grateful for the gifts we are given,
to share these gifts with others.

Enjoy these fragments of poetry from William Stafford. Savor the message.

In the introduction Stafford writes:

"Each poem is a gift, a surprise that emerges as itself..."



"Waiting in Line"

There have been evenings when the light
has turned everything silver, and like you
I have stopped at the corner and suddenly
staggered with the grace of it all: to have
inherited all this, ...

"Next Time"

Next time what I'd do is look at
the earth before saying anything. I'd stop
just before going into a house
and be an emperor for a minute
and listen better to the wind
          or to the air being still.

"On Earth"

The lives we have, while we have them,
can measure time , before and after
today, to use or give away.

On earth it is like this, a strange
gift we hold, while we look around.

"Little Rooms"

There are rooms in a life, apart from others, rich
with whatever happens, a glimpse of moon, a breeze.
You who come years from now to this brief spell
of nothing that was mine: the open, slow passing
of time was a gift going by. I have put my hand out
on the mane of the wind, like this, to give it to you.

(Click on any photo to enlarge)

Photo Locations:

1. Santa Catalina Mountains - (Santa Catalina Mtns.) Arizona
2. Beverly Beach State Park, (Beverly Beach) Oregon
3. National Veteran's Cemetery - SantaFe, (Santa Fe)New Mexico
4. Whitefish Point - (Whitefish Point) Lake Superior - Michigan

An Oregon Message  c 1987   by William Stafford