sprite writes
broodings from the burrow

February 3, 2018


bloggers’ silent poetry reading: sharon olds
posted by soe 1:08 am

The start of this month marks the 13th Bloggers’ (Silent) Poetry Reading in honor of St. Brigid, patron saint of poetry. I no longer know what day it’s supposed to be on, since we all started on Feb. 2. But St. Brigid’s Day is actually the 1st, and that is when the few who still participate seem to share their choices. However, I am a traditionalist on this issue and continue to participate on the 2nd (although it’ll be the 3rd by the time everyone reads this). This year, I decided to share a poem from the last collection I bought:

Wind Ode

I saw the water, ruffled like a duck,
as if its ruffles arose from within.
I saw clouds, scudding across
as if by their own will. I sat here,
over the pond, and saw its fierce
gooseflesh and its rough chop
as if it were shivering. I did not know you,
I looked right through you. And then, one summer
day, Wild Goose was in nine moods
at once, and I went down to it,
and into it up to my lower eyelids, and I
saw a row of fine lines
rushing toward me, then another row
crosshatching it, rushing, then a veil of dots swift
in, like a hat-veil-sized spirit, I saw you,
it was you, and there were many of you, I sank
underwater, and looked up,
and saw your strokes indent the surface.
Could we trace them back, these hachures and gravures,
to the Coriolis force caused by the
spinning of the earth? Who is the mother
of the wind, who is its father? O ancestor,
O child of heat and cold, wild
original scribbler!

   ~Sharon Olds

In previous years, I have shared poems by Emily Dickinson, Kyle Dargan, Barbara Crooker, William Stafford, Mary Oliver (twice), Wislawa Szymborska, Stuart Dischell, Jean Esteve, John Frederick Nims, Grace Paley, Heather McHugh, and Barbara Hamby, all of which are worth another read.

Category: arts. There is/are 2 Comments.



Beautiful! And a new to me poet! Thank you for sharing.

Comment by AsKatKnits 02.03.18 @ 8:16 am

@Kat: I first encountered Sharon Olds in grad school. This comes from Odes, but you should be aware that a lot of the odes are to body parts. So, if you’re looking for Mary Oliver-like, she’s probably less that than my choice of poem would suggest.

Comment by soe 02.05.18 @ 12:21 am