Poetry Project #3, Edna St. Vincent Millay

Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) was from Rockland, Maine.

I Think I Should Have Loved You Presently (Sonnet IX)

I think I should have loved you presently,
And given in earnest words I flung in jest;
And lifted honest eyes for you to see,
And caught your hand against my cheek and breast;
And all my pretty follies flung aside
That won you to me, and beneath your gaze,
Naked of reticence and shorn of pride,
Spread like a chart my little wicked ways.
I, that had been to you, had you remained,
But one more waking from a recurrent dream,
Cherish no less the certain stakes I gained,
And walk your memory’s halls, austere, supreme,
A ghost in marble of a girl you knew
Who would have loved you in a day or two.

Poetry Project #2, Kay Ryan

Another installment of the Poetry Project for your Monday! Kay Ryan lives in Fairfax, California, and teaches at the College of Martin.

Paired Things

Who, who had only seen wings,
could extrapolate the
skinny sticks of things
birds use for land,
the backward way they bend,
the silly way they stand?
And who, only studying
birdtracks in the sand,
could think those little forks
had decamped on the wind?
So many paired things seem odd.
Who ever would have dreamed
the broad winged raven of despair
would quit the air and go
bandylegged upon the ground,
a common crow?

Poetry Project #1, Li-Young Lee

Hello, all,

Because I always love having something thoughtful to read, I'm starting a new weekly post series where I post a different short poem every Monday (not mine, just some old favorites.) Whether you want to discuss the poem of the week, meditate on it privately, or file it away for your idea notebook, I hope you get something out of it!

Today's poem is from contemporary poet Li-Young Lee.

Enjoy!

One Heart

Look at the birds. Even flying
is born

out of nothing. The first sky
is inside you, open

at either end of day.
The work of wings

was always freedom, fastening
one heart to every fallen thing.