Thursday, May 31, 2012

A Favorite Place


           Poetry Friday today is hosted today by Carol Wilcox at Carol’s Corner.  The first of June evokes such good memories doesn’t it?  Thank you Carol!





          I’ve posted two times in recent weeks about the geography of place and the importance of its integration in numerous areas in the classroom, including the social studies of course, but also in all kinds of writing—fiction, poetry and memoir.  Then yesterday I received my online Orion magazine and there were three poems about place.  One is about the prairie.  I wish I had known it when Tabatha asked some of us to write about a beloved fictional character and choose several poems that character might like.   A favorite writer of mine is Willa Cather, whose work I reread, especially My Ántonia.  Ántonia Shimerda is a favorite character and I know she would love this poem, as I do. 

          The poem is

Prairie, Under Full Moon
                            
In the blooming period, everywhere is open. 
Winds make you arrive where you do not want to go.
Disrupt the
Sequence of the hours.
             You can find more here.


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              Eva Hooker is professor of English and writer in residence at Saint Mary’s College in Indiana. When I researched her, I found that she is a nun, named Sister Eva Mary, and her poems have appeared in The New England Review, AGNI, Terrain.org, and other publications. 


photo credit: casch52 via photo pin cc

photo credit: Dillan K via photo pin cc

16 comments:

  1. "angels roam restlessly"

    Gorgeous poem, Linda. I could feel my mind and heart opening up more and more with each word. I need to read My Antonia again :).

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    1. I was truly excited when I found this poem Jama. I hope you do read My Antonia again. I find it especially wonderful in its connections to place. Thank you!

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  2. Wow, this is beautiful! Perfect for reading just before one sets out for a drive onto Colorado's eastern plains!

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    1. I've driven east many times, & might not choose to live there, yet there is something magical about that broad sweeping view. Have a good trip, Carol.

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    2. Yup. Poem sounds like and pictures look like home to me!

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    3. And sometimes that's good, right? It is often beautiful.

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  3. I have an ongoing love affair with the wind. When I was in high school I described my beloved cousins (who were my male heroes) as the 'winds of my life.' I agree with Jama, it's the kind of poem that gradually opens up one's heart.

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    1. Oh, it's lovely to hear your connection to the wind. I do love hearing those stories of connections! Thank you for all your comments, Myra. I love hearing your ideas both in the comments and on your own posts. Happy Weekend!

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  4. That poem makes me feel restless for the wind and open spaces. Lovely photos too!

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    1. Thank you Andi. There is something inviting about those long views. My school is on the edge of the prairie, & it is always somewhat windy, so that sound & the meadowlark singing gives me such pleasure.

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  5. Like Jama, I now want to re-read My Antonia, too. What a perfect poem to capture the windswept beauty of the prairie, Linda.

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  6. So glad you like it, Tara. I was happy when the magazine arrived! Thanks!

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  7. I can echo some bits from the previous comments. I too am restless for freedom of opened wide sky and a blooming day when everything awakes as is so insightfully written by this poet. Thanks so much for sharing this poem, there is so much out there to discover. I love that you continue to expose me to new things each week.

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    1. Thanks Betsy. The poem fits us in numerous ways, doesn't it, like your restlessness? Hope you have a good week!

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  8. What an interesting poem. I especially love these lines and the enjambment "...prone / To excess."

    "You see words are not always accurate.

    Sometimes they are prone
    To excess. And mutiny."

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  9. I think it is a poem to read again & again, especially when gazing on the prairie. I'm glad you enjoyed it, Violet.

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