poetry

August 11, 2022 - The poem, Iowa City: Early April by Robert Hass, speaks of a creation full of life, visible and active all around us. Like the bat in the poem, it stops us in our tracks, and can, when it is "loose," fly straight at our face and make us topple to the floor. By Louise Conner

June 23, 2022 - The creatures described in Characteristics of Life are humble, tentative, and vulnerable, easily overlooked and easily harmed in a world that values primarily what is like ourselves. What do we have in common, after all, with a mollusk? By Louise Conner

May 12, 2022 - In the "Blessings & Prayers" sections of The Bell and the Blackbird, David Whyte explores being touched by what is around us and blessed by it. Two poems in this section, "Blessing for Sound," and "Blessing for Light," make particularly good companion pieces. By Louise Conner

March 10, 2022 - To see the connections that exist in this world is essential if we are to live well within it. The poem, Invocation, by Everett Hoagland reminds us just how necessary it is to see those connections and to live accordingly. By Louise Conner

January 27, 2022 - The poem Lost by David Wagoner speaks about the movement from being lost to being found—from disconnection and disorientation to connection and placement. This movement from one to the other is accomplished, ironically, according to the poem, by standing still. By Louise Conner