Two Poems and a Poem: Ritual One, Day 5

 

Two Poems:

“Como Tu / Like You / Like Me” by Richard Blanco

“How to Fly (In Ten Thousand Easy Lessons)” by Barbara Kingsolver

A Poem:

Ascending

by ljkemp

Like thirst, like hunger,

we ache with the need to save ourselves.

Bodies in rows beneath the ground,

archives of lives lived and lost,

neatly aligned in formation awaiting

a messiah.

Are they under our feet, or all around us

same as the urns and the unknowns,

the ones left at sea or on foreign land

the ones burst into flames in flight

or in fire or in furnace.

Behold your elements reassembled

as pieces of sky, ascending

without regret.

It is in the spirit we go on 

forever.

Italics:

First sentence is from the Blanco poem, the final italics are from the Kingsolver poem.

Two Poems and a Poem: Ritual One, Day 4

 Two Poems:

“How to Shear a Sheep” by Barbara Kingsolver

“Complaint of El Rio Grande” by Richard Blanco

A Poem:

Entreaty

by ljkemp

Stand naked in the morning with your entreaty

in your own eyes and in the eyes of God 

bare the way you arrived,

plea to see you in your awesomeness 

it is in this image we are most alike, most human

It is in the mirror, naked before only God

we see ourselves, we see the truth we know we know:

We are one in one another.

 

Two Poem and a Poem: Ritual One, Day 3

 

Photo Credit: Mobile Cuisine

Two Poems:

“Dreaming a Wall” by Richard Blanco

“How to Cure Sweet Potatoes” by Barbara Kingsolver

A Poem:

Winter

by ljkemp 

Consider the direction of your grace

notice all around you don’t just see it, 

Notice.

Birds singing sweeter in his trees,

perfume aromatics of orange blossoms 

announcing the arrival of prized fruit,

the bald eagle high in her nest

guarding her unhatched kin,

brackish estuaries down below

filtering, nourishing, protecting.

The warm golden sun 

hangs low and wide,

dryer, longer shadows

praising his fresher air

under his bluer, bluer sky.

Floridians notice,

despite what you may have heard

seasons change.

Two Poems and a Poem: Ritual One, Day 2

 Two Poems

“How to Have a Child” by Barbara Kingsolver

“Election Year” by Richard Blanco

A Poem

Drain

by ljkemp

Everything that can wreck a life 

has been done before

passive,

we are strangled in the vile clasp

helpless and defeated

until the clouds begin

sailing in, cargoed with rain

pouring down 

in biblical proportions

flooding and drowning

active,

we breathe again together

stand and speak

fight to wash with the rain

everything that wrecks life

oppression

violence

poverty

neglect

disease

famine

hatred

abuse 

war

Two Poems and a Poem: Ritual One, Day 1

Ritual 1: Two Poems and a Poem. 

These two poetry books were gifted to me this holiday season from two of my writing buddies. I have decided to savor them by reading a poem from each book, each day until I finish the books. Taking inspiration from Blanco and Kingsolver, I am going to write my own poem.

 

Two Poems:

“How to Drink Water When There is Wine” by Barbara Kingsolver

“Declaration of Inter-Dependence” by Richard Blanco

A Poem:

With Whom I Walk 

by ljkemp

Tell me with who you walk

and I’ll tell you who you are.

I walk with the poets, 

the artists, the flower children.

I walk with the thinkers, the writers 

the tree huggers and the book lovers.

We’re each other’s shelter and hope,

we breathe life into what is dying

or silenced or forgotten.

We shine light and spread words 

like prayer and communion

not as ammunition.

We walk arm and arm, 

cheek to cheek, 

even at a distance we are close.

Once I wrote, but thought

do not call me a writer.

Silly, shameful me.

Now I have lived long and I know better.

I know who I am now, as do you.

You can see with whom I walk.

Italicized lines:  

First two from Blanco’s poem.  Last one from Kingsolver’s poem. 

Another Blog

I’ve been holding onto this blog for awhile. I created the name in my head months ago and created the blog just to hold onto it. Never wrote a single post. I was so excited by the name and creating a new writing ritual- which I desperately need - but really couldn’t decide what to do with it. 

So here I am.

It’s about to be a new year, and I vowed I wouldn’t create any writing habits or rituals around a New Year’s resolution. I guess I’m just so fixed on the cliche of all those resolutions people make just to die long before they become internalized, creating new habits or an updated lifestyle. Funny thing is, the only long-term writing ritual I ever truly stuck to was the year I committed to a daily blog.

So here I am.

Last night two of my writing buddies and I had our annual holiday meet-up. Sushi and a book exchange. We’ve done this many times before, but for some reason I felt different coming home with my new treasures this year. Right place, right time, right books perhaps. My two gifts: First, How to Love a Country by Richard Blanco. This gift is a treasure from my friend Helen. She knows I love Blanco’s poetry. She may not realize this, but strangely until now, I haven’t owned one of his collections. My first Blanco collection and the note Helen wrote inside, well I have no words. Not yet. The second, from my friend Annmarie is another treasure, How to Fly (In Ten Thousand Easy Lessons) by Barbara Kingsolver* signed by the poet and also has an inspiring note from Annmarie. She knows I’ve always wished I could fly. 

So here I am.

Two new poetry books filled with inspirational words, not just from the poets but from my dear friends. I decided it’s time. This blog is born today. And I decided, the ritual is that there is a ritual. I’m going to start one now as a sort of mini project, and when I’m ready to move on, I will start another. 

Rite here, write now.

*Interesting note, we all brought books for each other, so we each got two books. You know we’ve been writing together for a long time when I bought the Kingsolver book for Helen, she bought it for Annmarie, and Annmarie bought it for me!