Friday, June 1, 2012

POETRY AS APOCALYPSE. OH, AND PEACHES.

Sharing today one of my favorite poems, because I have just eaten the first peach of the season...  and I am feeling grateful.

Peaches seem to have that affect on me. I wrote a poem for my husband that includes a peach called "Anniversary." (It appears in my book WHAT CAME BEFORE.)

But oh, read this one by Li-Young Lee:

 
From Blossoms

From blossoms comes
this brown paper bag of peaches
we bought from the boy
at the bend in the road where we turned toward
signs painted Peaches.
From laden boughs, from hands,
from sweet fellowship in the bins,
comes nectar at the roadside, succulent
peaches we devour, dusty skin and all,
comes the familiar dust of summer, dust we eat.
O, to take what we love inside,
to carry within us an orchard, to eat
not only the skin, but the shade,
not only the sugar, but the days, to hold
the fruit in our hands, adore it, then bite into
the round jubilance of peach.
There are days we live
as if death were nowhere
in the background; from joy
to joy to joy, from wing to wing,
from blossom to blossom to
impossible blossom, to sweet impossible blossom.
- Li-Young Lee
 

And now a quote from Mr. Lee:

 "There’s eclipse, covering, and there's apocalypse, uncovering. I think poetry provides a very important service. It uncovers our deepest identity. When we read a poem, that’s what we get – our deepest identity."

 - Li-Young Lee, A GOD IN THE HOUSE:Poets Talk about Faith 

For more poetic goodness, please visit Carol at Carol's Corner for Poetry Friday Roundup! 

15 comments:

  1. One of my favorites. I'm looking forward to lots of sweet juicy peaches this summer. Nice quote from Mr. Lee, too. :)

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  2. My mouth is watering. Exquisite poem. It shines of summer and hope and simple pleasures. BTW, Versatile Blog Award talk on our blog today!

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  3. I love that poem! Can't wait for peaches!

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  4. told you peaches were in early this year... I need to write a bad poem about how the peach juice runs down your arm and chin and how good the peach taste just picked from the highest branch as you wait for someone to go get your parents because you're scared of heights and can't climb down ... but oh how stimulating the peach is... the perfect one high in the tree, no bug marks on this peach, how your mouth waters from the moment its fuzzy skin touches your fingers then tickles you lips and nose... and the taste... ahhhhh I need a peach...HA you know I hate peach flavor but love real peaches..

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  5. Drooling...

    What a poem, and what an attitude...to be grateful for every moment and stage encompassed in the sweet fruit at hand...good way to live!

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  6. Wow! That's all, just wow! This poem takes my words away! Gorgeous!

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  7. My daughter has a peach tree in her front yard & it's the year for fruit again! The biggest problem is trying to keep people walking by taking them all! They are so excited & will love this. It is truly a celebratory poem. "to eat not only the skin, but the shade..." beautiful! Thanks Irene.

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  8. I want to pull out lines I love ("sweet fellowship in the bins") but once I get started, it's hard to stop. I think in a way this poem is not just about one type of food, but an ode to local food and gardens.

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  9. I love this one -- I posted it myself a couple of years ago on a Poetry Friday. Thanks for reminding me of it!

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  10. Blooming Lines!!
    Wish You All The Best!!

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  11. Oh I love that! It made me feel my childhood all over again...eating the fruit right from the trees on the perfect summer day. You described it perfectly with these words. Wonderful!
    "There are days we live
    as if death were nowhere
    in the background; from joy
    to joy to joy, from wing to wing,
    from blossom to blossom to
    impossible blossom, to sweet impossible blossom."

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