Here's your Daily Poem from the Poetry Chaikhana --
 | Praise Them By Li-Young Lee
(1957 - ) The birds don't alter space.
They reveal it. The sky
never fills with any
leftover flying. They leave
nothing to trace. It is our own
astonishment collects
in chill air. Be glad.
They equal their due
moment never begging,
and enter ours
without parting day. See
how three birds in a winter tree
make the tree barer.
Two fly away, and new rooms
open in December.
Give up what you guessed
about a whirring heart, the little
beaks and claws, their constant hunger.
We're the nervous ones.
If even one of our violent number
could be gentle
long enough that one of them
found it safe inside
our finally untroubled and untroubling gaze,
who wouldn't hear
what singing completes us? 
/ Photo by Wes Rogers /
|
| ============ Thought for the Day: The great, flowing vastness
one IS...
well, it is perceived,
but it is not known. ============ | Here's your Daily Music selection -- 
dZihan & Kamien
Gran Rivera
Listen - Purchase More Music Selections |
Hi Omss -
Li-Young Lee has a fascinating family history. Lee's maternal grandfather was the first president of the Republic of China. His father, however, came from a family of businessmen and gangsters. During the Chinese Civil War, Lee's father was attached to a nationalist general who switched sides, which resulted in Dr. Lee becoming the personal physician to Mao Tse-tung for a brief time.
Li-Young Lee was born after the war when his family had moved to Indonesia. While Lee was still a toddler, his father was jailed for political reasons for nearly two years. When he was eventually released, the family moved about for a while. In Hong Kong Lee's father became a hugely successful evangelical preacher and businessman.
Lee's father was an emotional man and, after an argument, he dropped everything and left with his family, finally settling in the United States, where Dr. Lee became the minister of a small church in Pennsylvania.
Li-Young Lee grew up in the US and studied at the University of Pittsburgh. He currently lives in Chicago.
==
There's so much I like about this poem by Li-Young Lee. But rather than another one of my meandering commentaries, I think I'll let you just enjoy the poem's lines as they are...
The birds don't alter space.
They reveal it. The sky
never fills with any
leftover flying...
Have a beautiful weekend cultivating that untroubled, untroubling gaze...
Ivan
PS - If you want something more to smile about today, give a listen to today's music selection.
Share Your Thoughts on today's poem or my commentary...
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Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2010 by Ivan M. Granger.
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