Heidi brought poetry back into my life. One day she shared this poem on her blog:
The Summer Day
by Mary Oliver
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
We were waiting for our court date. I was trying to work, finish papers and projects for school and I was so restless and tense. I read this poem and it was as though this meditative force seized my mind and body and I felt calm and peaceful and strong. I emailed Heidi and asked her to suggest a book of poem by Mary Oliver. She asked for my address and a few days later I was holding this book in my hands. Heidi has brought so much joy into my life. She has brought true and forever friendship. She has brought poetry. And now she has brought Derebe and Degaye into my life.
So now, in celebration of Heidi and her family, it is our turn to share some poetry with her. Please post one of your favorite poems and feel free to explain why you are sharing it. And maybe, like me, you have been touched by a particular poem that Heidi has shared and you want to share that as well.
And as to continue Heidi's tradition of poetry sharing, one of you will be getting a book of poetry by Mary Oliver!!!
I loved the poem about the turtle crossing the road. I think that was another Mary Oliver!
ReplyDeleteRebecca - This is such the perfect way to honor Heidi. I agree that Heidi helped spark my love of poetry as well. I have two poems to share.
ReplyDeleteOur Family Tree
-Author Unknown
We added to our family tree
A stronger one to make, A child
from another plant has
Become our new namesake
Just as a limb is grafted from one
tree onto another,
It alters and improves the plant
Making it unique and like no other.
Our family tree has been improved,
Adoption made this so. For love,
much more then bloodlines,
Is what makes us thrive and grow.
We chose to share our life and
love and all the joys to come.
Our "Family Tree" has blossomed
With the arrival of our cherished one.
This poem makes me think of what is at the top of Heidi's blog about love being thicker than blood and I like the analogy to plants as Heidi has nurtured all of us along the way giving us love.
Here is the second one. I had to do a Mary Oliver Poem. I remember a while ago Heidi posted this one on her blog and it was a special moment because I had just read the exact poem in a magazine. It made me feel closer to her.
The Summer Day
Mary Oliver
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
I love you, Heidi!!!!!
The Breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you
ReplyDeleteDon't go back to sleep
You must ask for what you really want
Don't go back to sleep
People are goin back and forth across the doorsill
where the two worlds touch
The door is round and open
Don't go back to sleep
~Rumi
I think of this poem during times of transition. Especially times that are so multilayered with different emotion. At this point you are standing on this doorsile, between the worlds of your time as Heidi and Mark and your time as Heidi, Mark, Derebe & Degaye. Its time to step through the door!!
So much love to you guys as you embark on your journey! You have been such an inspiration to me. It really has been a gift to be able to read along as you guys become a family of 4.
xoxo
There are too many kids in the tub.
ReplyDeleteThere are too many elbows to scrub.
I just washed a behind and
I'm sure it wasn't mine.
There are too many kids in the tub.
Your reality soon, my friend! God speed to all seven of you. xoxo AOE
I'm not sure this counts as poetry but this quote has been my companion ever since Heidi offered it on her blog. It reflects the spirit Heidi gives to the world in my opinion--and in that way, it is poetry.
ReplyDelete"No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit."
Helen Keller
And now you are off to discover your secrets, Heidi, your uncharted land, your new doorway.
Peanut-Butter Sandwich
ReplyDeleteby Shel Silverstein (1932-1999)
I’ll sing you a story of a silly young king
Who played with the world at the end of a string,
But he only loved one single thing --
And that was just a peanut-butter sandwich.
His scepter and his royal gowns,
His regal throne and golden crowns
Were brown and sticky from the mounds
And drippings from each peanut-butter sandwich.
His subjects all were silly fools
For he had passed a royal rule
That all that they could learn in school
Was how to make a peanut-butter sandwich.
He would not eat his sovereign steak,
He scorned his soup and kingly cake,
And told his courtly cook to bake
An extra-sticky peanut-butter sandwich.
And then one day he took a bite
And started chewing with delight,
But found his mouth was stuck quite tight
From that last bite of peanut-butter sandwich.
His brother pulled, his sister pried,
The wizard pushed, his mother cried,
“My boy’s committed suicide
From eating his last peanut-butter sandwich!”
The dentist came, and the royal doc.
The royal plumber banged and knocked,
But still those jaws stayed tightly locked.
Oh darn that sticky peanut-butter sandwich!
The carpenter, he tried with pliers,
The telephone man tried with wires,
The firemen, they tried with fire,
But couldn’t melt that peanut-butter sandwich.
With ropes and pulleys, drills and coil,
With steam and lubricating oil --
For twenty years of tears and toil --
They fought that awful peanut-butter sandwich.
Then all his royal subjects came.
They hooked his jaws with grapplin’ chains
And pulled both ways with might and main
Against that stubborn peanut-butter sandwich.
Each man and woman, girl and boy
Put down their ploughs and pots and toys
And pulled until kerack! Oh, joy --
They broke right through that peanut-butter sandwich.
A puff of dust, a screech, a squeak --
The king’s jaw opened with a creak.
And then in voice so faint and weak --
The first words that they heard him speak
Were, “How about a peanut-butter sandwich?”
Here's to many a reading of this poem and for many o' peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to come!
I think of all the amazing women (Heidi being our leader!) on this journey and how we're all tied by the bond of IA, Ethiopia specifically. We're all so different - with different lives, interests, jobs, groups, friends, hobbies, etc but there is one thing that brought us all together to make us realize how similar we all are.
ReplyDeleteLove you Heidi!
THE HUMAN FAMILY
Maya Angelou
I note the obvious differences
in the human family.
Some of us are serious,
some thrive on comedy.
Some declare their lives are lived
as true profundity,
and others claim they really live
the real reality.
The variety of our skin tones
can confuse, bemuse, delight,
brown and pink and beige and purple,
tan and blue and white.
I've sailed upon the seven seas
and stopped in every land.
I've seen the wonders of the world,
not yet one common man.
I know ten thousand women
called Jane and Mary Jane,
but I've not seen any two
who really were the same.
Mirror twins are different
although their features jibe,
and lovers think quite different thoughts
while lying side by side.
We love and lose in China,
we weep on England's moors,
and laugh and moan in Guinea,
and thrive on Spanish shores.
We seek success in Finland,
are born and die in Maine.
In minor ways we differ,
in major we're the same.
I note the obvious differences
between each sort and type,
but we are more alike, my friends
than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
I am a puddle after reading all this! Thank you for adding to my list of favorites and for being such wonderful friends. Really, I am humbled by all this.
ReplyDelete