Both by Lucille Clifton.

"what the mirror said"

listen,
you a wonder.
you a city
of a woman.
you got a geography
of your own.
listen,
somebody need a map
to understand you.
somebody need directions
to move around you.
listen,
woman,
you not a noplace
anonymous
girl;
mister with his hands on you
he got his hands on
some
damn
body!

And for crafting_change, ( Read more... )

This poem literally just knocked the breath out of me. The last line, oh my God.

Dangerous for Girls, by Connie Voisine

I usually post some kind of New Year's poem, etc., but I hadn't really found anything this year, and with the way the year ended, I wasn't really hyped to do it. Then I ran across a post of heatherly's with this poem, which seemed perfect:i am running into a new year ( Read more... )

I don't entirely resign. I may teach the Third Gospel
this afternoon. I haven't made up my mind.
It seems to me sometimes that others have easier jobs
& do them worse.

But I like these lines best:
A basis rock-like of love & friendship
for all this world-wide madness seems to be needed.

"Prayer"Don’t let me fall ( Read more... )

For that free Grace bringing us past great risks
& thro' great griefs surviving to this feast...
-John Berryman

• Indoor plumbing
  
• My crazy-ass family
  
• My crazy-ass friends
  
• The people who have known me 15+ years and still love me
  
• A job that I like
  
• The city I live in
  
• The city I was born in
  
• Books
  
• Writing
  
• My cat
  
• Sleep
  
• The recent elections
  
• Financial ( Read more... )

Thirty today, I saw
The trees flare briefly like
The candles upon a cake
As the sun went down the sky,
A momentary flash,
Yet there was time to wish
Before the light could die,
If I had known what to wish,
As once I must have known,
Bending above the clean,
Candlelit tablecloth
To blow them out with a breath.
-Donald Justicei thank You God for most ( Read more... )

spring omnipotent goddess Thou ( Read more... )

i know that quoting this poem is a cliché, but this stanza pretty much sums up my state of mind this week:
I was of three minds,
Like a tree
In which there are three blackbirds.

actually, three may be too conservative an estimate.

from champignon and others: if you see this on your friends list, post a poem that you like/have been reading/etc.

from romeo and juliet, act I, scene IV ( Read more... )