Poesy

Thursday's poetry slam was wonderful--I'm a fan of inserting poetic beauty into everyday life, if only because otherwise I'd forget to seek it out.  But I confess that it put me in a melancholy mood for much of the day--so many of the poems evoked powerfully complicated and difficult emotions.  Most particularly the one I posted--sorry about that if I messed up anyone else's head.  Or perhaps it was just me.  That poem travelled some rough roads (or onto pebbled shores, perhaps) with me once upon a time, though it means something different now, under a differently misblotted sun.

One thing I loved was that Henry seemed to be in the mood too.  With no hint or suggestion on my part, he picked out "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," a picture book of the poem that my mom got for the kids last year, for his bedtime story.  Apparently Henry and Kat are on the very same page, and a good one, too.

There's knitting, as always, and randomness soon, but I wanted to just add a fun and funny and hopeful poem that I found in perusing the blog of the meme's orignator.  I've printed it out and put it on my wall in the office; a sort of permission slip for daily life. 

Here it is:

God Says Yes To Me

Kaylin Haught

I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic
and she said yes
I asked her if it was okay to be short
and she said it sure is
I asked her if I could wear nail polish
or not wear nail polish
and she said honey
she calls me that sometimes
she said you can do just exactly
what you want to
Thanks God I said
And is it even okay if I don't paragraph
my letters
Sweetcakes God said
who knows where she picked that up
what I'm telling you is
Yes Yes Yes

Comments

[Norma]

And this one is wonderful too.

[susoolu]

This really cheered my morning up - and it being sent on to a dear friend (who is ridiculously, heavily pregnant right now with very impatient twin girls!).

[mamacrab]

LOVE IT! In some ways just as moving and emotional as yesterday's poem. It made me cry over my coffee, then I emailed it to my sister, and now I'm printing it out. Thanks Cate. -Patti

[Rachel]

I too saw that poem while sifting through her site and it was so light and touching and full of possibility that I ran around with a little smile on my face all day, despite the pressures and stresses and difficulties that wanted to take over. It was also featured as one of the poems on Poetry 180 (http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/), I was pleased to discover.

Isn't it interesting that the melancholy mood evoked by heavy poetry and other literature is of an entirely different substance than other types of melancholy? It is almost comforting. Not empty at all, but full and rich and personal. I am glad you shared that poem, which actually put me in mind of Anne Sexton and I pulled her book down off the shelf yesterday too.

It was fun to spend some time in the morning sifting through my poetry books, which, as you said, don't always get sought out and yet when you find them, they feed the soul.

[Cassie]

Excellent. I'm printing it out too. Thanks.

[Ruth]

Oh, I love this one. I'll be printing that out.

We have that picture book. At least I'm assuming it's the same one ... marvelous pictures.

[Cara]

Wonderful!

My poem yesterday was a bit depressing too. Okay, well, a lot depressing. I think we forget sometimes that laughter expresses emotion just as much as tears. You know?

Have a great day Cate!

[Katy]

That one is perfect--a good reminder for me, and just the thing I would like to share with my girls at some point.

[Julie]

You're bringing back memories now. I had to memorize Snowy Evening in 7th grade. I was sadly disappointed when I moved to the area and visited said woods and pond. Ah well, I imagine bazillions of visitors have had rather a large impact on a once lovely spot.

[Carole]

Now those are some words to live by! Amen, dude!

[Jackie]

Wow, that was wonderful.

Thanks for sharing. :)

[Nancy]

I used to love to read that book with my oldest son (my youngest hasn't discovered it yet). It's such a great poem and kids really appreciate it.

I love the one you posted today also, thanks for passing it along.

[Martha]

I love the image of God as a gum-smacking diner waitress.

[--Deb]

Oh, I love that!

[jenn]

you will never know how this is exactly what i needed today. thank you, truly.

[Kat with a K]

Oh, I LOVE that. And tell Henry he has very good taste!

[Elaine]

That is a great poem. Yesterday I debated over the poem I posted, and "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver, it starts:

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees for a thousand miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.

sigh - happy now.

[Chris]

Thanks for sharing that - brought a smile to my tired face.

[julia fc]

That is great. It's about love, unconditional that is, and my god would be about that too.

[Kaylin Haught]

You bloggers have good taste! God Says Yes to Me is being performed across the U.K. this year by a performance group, and many other books and anthologies have requested it. I, however, had no idea when I wrote it many years ago that it was going to go as far as it has. I do check the blogs occasionally, to see what's going on. Thank you so much for liking my poem.

[Annie]

I find that poem highly offensive, I was reading your blog for the knitting content, but will no longer be a reader. I acknowledge that you want to be open with your beliefs, but you have already expressed yourself enough without being blasphomous.