Post your favorite poems!

[MilkJar]

I like poetry, it's like really short form writing, but can hold a whole hell of a lot of meaning.

heres 2 of my favorites:
Two-Headed Calf, by Laura Gilpin

Tomorrow when the farm boys find this
freak of nature, they will wrap his body
in newspaper and carry him to the museum.

But tonight he is alive and in the north
field with his mother. It is a perfect
summer evening: the moon rising over
the orchard, the wind in the grass.
And as he stares into the sky, there
are twice as many stars as usual.

Immortality, by Clare Harner

Do not stand
          By my grave, and weep.
     I am not there,
          I do not sleep
I am the thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glints in snow
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle, autumn rain.
As you awake with morning's hush,
I am the swift, up-flinging rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight,
I am the day transcending night.
     Do not stand
          By my grave, and cry
     I am not there,
          I did not die.

[invader_gvim]

Bunny must work 12 hours in the honey factory so it can buy 1 jar of honey.

-My husband

Dib

wrote this poem for me as a text message. It made the whole day at the factory I work at bearable. 

[stranger]

i wanna give special attention to the poetry of jonny bolduc, as i genuinely enjoy his poetry a lot! as he's struggling financially at the moment i think it's more important than ever to share his beautiful works :)

jonny bolduc - untitled(?)

oliver baez bendorf - dysphoria

It’s true that I’m im-
patient under affliction. So?
Most of what the dead can

do is difficult to carry. As for
gender I can’t explain it
any more than a poem: there

was an instinct, I followed
it. A song. A bell. I saw
deer tracks in the snow. Little

split hearts beckoned me
across the lawn.

gabrielle calvocoressi - hammond b3 organ cistern
  note that i'm linking this poem instead of sharing the text directly; this is because it's a poem about suicide and mentions methods thereof. however, it's a very hopeful poem, full of love. i hope those that feel strong enough to read it can do so and feel lightened by it :)

[Rosaria Delacroix]

What a wonderful little thread. Highly topical to my own life, as I've just spent some time putting some of my favourite poems together for a recent 32-Bit Cafe Valentines webweaving event. Here we are, then:

Scheherazade — Richard Siken
Tell me about the dream where we pull the bodies out of the lake

and dress them in warm clothes again.

How it was late, and no one could sleep, the horses running

until they forget that they are horses.

It’s not like a tree where the roots have to end somewhere,

it’s more like a song on a policeman’s radio,

how we rolled up the carpet so we could dance, and the days

were bright red, and every time we kissed there was another apple

to slice into pieces.

Look at the light through the windowpane. That means it’s noon, that means

we’re inconsolable.

Tell me how all this, and love too, will ruin us.

These, our bodies, possessed by light.

Tell me we’ll never get used to it.

Wild Geese — Mary Oliver
You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting—

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

The Sciences Sing a Lullabye — Albert Goldbarth
Physics says: go to sleep. Of course

you're tired. Every atom in you

has been dancing the shimmy in silver shoes

nonstop from mitosis to now.

Quit tapping your feet. They'll dance

inside themselves without you. Go to sleep.


Geology says: it will be all right. Slow inch

by inch America is giving itself

to the ocean. Go to sleep. Let darkness

lap at your sides. Give darkness an inch.

You aren't alone. All of the continents used to be

one body. You aren't alone. Go to sleep.


Astronomy says: the sun will rise tomorrow,

Zoology says: on rainbow-fish and lithe gazelle,

Psychology says: but first it has to be night, so

Biology says: the body-clocks are stopped all over town

and

History says: here are the blankets, layer on layer, down and down.

[sen.fish]

Oh yay another place where I can talk about how much I love Ocean Vuong. These are probably two of my favorite poems from Vuong:

"Amazon History of a Former Nail Salon Worker"
Ocean Vuong

Mar.

Advil (ibuprofen), 4 pack 
Sally Hansen Pink Nail Polish, 6 pack 
Clorox Bleach, industrial size 
Diane hair pins, 4 pack 
Seafoam handheld mirror 
“I Love New York” T-shirt, white, small

Apr.

Nongshim Ramen Noodle Bowl, 24 pack 
Cotton Balls, 100 count 
“Thank You For Your Loyalty” cards, 30 count 
Toluene POR-15 40404 Solvent, 1 quart 
UV LED Nail Lamp 
Cuticle Oil, value pack 
Clear Acrylic Nail Tips, 500 count

May

Advil (ibuprofen), 4 pack 
Vicks VapoRub, twin pack 
Portable Electric Nail Drill 
Salonpas Heat-Activated muscle patch, 40 count 
Lipstick, “Night Out Red” 
Little Debbie Chocolate Zebra Cakes, 4 boxes

Jun.

Large faux-clay planter pots, value set 
Carnation Condensed Milk, 6 pack 
Clear Nail Art Acrylic Liquid Powder Dish Bowl, 2 pcs 
Birthday Card—Son—Pop-up Mother and Son effect 
Nike Elite Basketball Shorts, men’s small

Jul.

Saviland Holographic Gold Nail Powder, 6 colors 
Nescafé Taster’s Choice Instant Coffee 
Advil (ibuprofen), 4 pack 
PIXNOR Pedicure Double-Sided Callus Remover 
Bengay Medicated Cream, 3 pack

Aug.

Newchic Ochre Summer Dress Floral Print, sz 6 
Wrigley’s Doublemint Gum, 8 pack 
Plastic Adirondack Lawn Chair, colonial blue

Sep.

Nail buffers and files, 10 pcs 
Coppertone Sunblock, 6 oz

Oct.

CozyNites Fleece Blanket, pink 
Sleep-Ease Melatonin caps, 90 count 
Icy Hot Maximum Strength pain relief pads

Nov.

Tampax, 24 count 
Faux-Resin Hair clips, 3 pack

Dec.

Advil (ibuprofen) Maximum Strength, 4 pack 
True-Gro Tulip Bulbs, 24 pcs

Jan.



Feb.

Healthline Compact Trigger Release Folding Walker 
Yankee Candle, Midsummer’s Night, large jar

Mar.

Chemo-Glam cotton head scarf, sunrise pink 
White Socks, women’s small, 12 pack

Apr.

Chemo-Glam cotton scarf, flower garden print 
“Warrior Mom” Breast Cancer awareness T-shirt, pink and white

May

Mueller 255 Lumbar Support Back Brace

Jun.

Birthday Card—“Son, We Will Always Be Together,” Snoopy design

Jul.

Eternity Aluminum Urn, Dove and Rose engraved, small 
Perfect Memories picture frame, 8 x 11 in, black 
Burt’s Bees lip balm, Honey, 1 pc

Aug.



Sep.

Easy-Grow Windowsill herb garden

Oct.

YourStory Customized Memorial Plaque, 10 x 8 x 4 in 
Winter coat, navy blue, x-small

Nov.

Wool socks, grey, 1 pair

"Seventh Circle of Earth"
Ocean Vuong

Then, of course, there's Ginsburg's "Howl", which you can listen to him read. All three of these have made me cry so many times.