I think this Richard Wilbur poem, "Year's End," has been open on my desktop since, well, the year's end. 2020, that is. I decided to share it as this National Poetry Month ends. This is a poem about unexpected endings, when you thought you'd have more time, but suddenly you don't. It references Pompeii. "These sudden ends of time must give us pause," it says.
One thing I've learned about myself is that I'm very attuned to endings, often more than to beginnings. Although, as Karen Blixen says in the movie "Out of Africa," "I'm better at hello," I seem to have more experience of goodbye. Although that makes no sense, since in order to say goodbye you have to have said hello. Let's just say that the goodbyes pile up. Because of all the endings, I try to say what needs to be said, to avoid postponing joy, as my Aunt Margie used to say. Because you just never know when your time will be over.
So go read the poem, here at month's end.
2 Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise
3 Mary Lee at A Year of Reading
4 Donna Smith at Mainly Write
5 Irene Latham at Live your Poem
6 Jan Godown Annino at BookseedStudio
7 Rose Cappelli at Imagine the Possibilities
8 Denise Krebs at Dare to Care
9 Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche
10 Molly Hogan at Nix the Comfort Zone
11 Buffy Silverman
12 Janet Fagel at Reflections on the Teche
13 Jone Rush MacCulloch
14 Susan Bruck at Soul Blossom Living
15 Wendy Taleo at Tales in eLearning
16 Heidi Mordhorst at my juicy little universe
17 Tricia Stohr Hunt at The Miss Rumphius Effect
18 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
19 Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link
20 Robyn Hood Black at Life on the Deckle Edge
21 Leigh Anne Eck at A Day in the Life
22 Ruth Hersey at There is No Such Thing as a God-forsaken Town
23 Janice Scully at Salt City Verse
24 Tabatha Yeatts at The Opposite of Indifference
25 Shari Daniels at Islands of my Soul
26 Tim Gels at Yet There is Method at https://timgels.com
27 Rebecca Newman
28 Catherine Flynn at Reading to the Core
29 Christie Wyman at Wondering and Wondering
30 Michelle Kogan at More Art 4 All
3 comments:
Interesting, your point about endings. This line really struck me, "Let's just say that the goodbyes pile up." Endings. Are there endings we celebrate? Likely. Do endings leave us melancholy? Also likely. Are there those that are difficult to shake? Without doubt. As you remind, they often seem unfinished - and can pile up. I'm likely a bit more partial to beginnings as I think about it. I'll have to ponder that a bit.
I enjoyed the poem - especially the ability to also listen to it. The truth in these lines also brought pause:
"Of men expecting yet another sun
To do the shapely thing they had not done."
Endings are often unplanned. Yet, even those that are planned can feel like there is more to do.
Your cleaning sure is giving me plenty to think about. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks, Ruth, your year of cleaning added to my "misc" bookmarks, ones I do return to now & then, to read a poem or a piece of prose I especially liked. I guess that is what you do with your tabs, keep for future sharing. I love this line "To do the shapely thing they had not done". Have a lovely rest of the week & weekend! One more day! I
"Avoid postponing joy." Such truth in that...
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