Monday, May 18, 2009

Beloved on the Earth


19 months after submitting my poetry, 6 months after being accepted, I was thrilled to receive in the mail today my copy of the brand new anthology Beloved on the Earth: 150 Poems of Grief and Gratitude from Holy Cow! Press. The cover is lovely, though the copy of it here scanned bluer than the actual cover is. Find it here. Scanning the list of those 150 poems, I truly feel like I'm walking among greatness: Naomi Shihab Nye, Sharon Olds, Ted Kooser, Billy Collins, Mary Oliver, Adrienne Rich, William Stafford, Basho, Li-Young Lee, Denise Levertov, Marvin Bell, Lucille Clifton, etc., etc.! It seems like a brilliant idea for an anthology, for when do we pick up poetry if not when we are in a time of contemplation, seeking wisdom, comfort, perspective...? I hope it sells well.

I can't help listing a few of the things I am grateful for. Don't worry about reading this list; you can insert your own:
  • perfect temperature today
  • constant breeze up on our hill that makes me feel like we live on the ocean
  • the inauguration of our grill, with actual steak! Matt got for his birthday
  • homemade cherry cheesecake, also for Matt's belated birthday (and also the fact that we have low cholesterol levels)
  • a sense, after the craze of getting grades in, that today was Saturday (it's really Monday) and there was nothing I had to do, even if it took getting over a migraine to make me slow down and stop trying to do everything anyway
  • going for a walk at sunset and looking at the pink streaking the sky
  • an upcoming canoe trip
  • lovely rest and peace.

Shalom.

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