Category: other deepening places

For Mother’s Day: A Poem by Wendell Berry #Poem #Poetry #Mother #Mom #Forgiveness #WendellBerry

14 May 2023

Either Wendell Berry and I share the same mother, or he just perfectly captured the power of forgiveness that many mothers exhibit. As I read this poem for the first time, I imagined myself as the speaker. Though not outwardly rebellious to my mother’s face, the boy I presented at home bore no likeness to … More For Mother’s Day: A Poem by Wendell Berry #Poem #Poetry #Mother #Mom #Forgiveness #WendellBerry

Getting Lost in the Woods: Wisdom from Wendell Berry #Poem #Poetry #Sabbath #Lost #Woods #Alone #WendellBerry

30 Apr 2023

Sabbath Poem II (1995) by Wendell Berry The best reward in going to the woods Is being lost to other people, and Lost sometimes to myself. I’m at the end Of no bespeaking wire to spoil my goods; I send no letter back I do not bring. Whoever wants me now must hunt me down … More Getting Lost in the Woods: Wisdom from Wendell Berry #Poem #Poetry #Sabbath #Lost #Woods #Alone #WendellBerry

A Poem for Good Friday #Poem #Poetry #GoodFriday #Christ #Rock #Moses #Rossetti

7 Apr 2023

Good Friday by Christina Rossetti Am I a stone, and not a sheep, That I can stand, O Christ, beneath Thy cross, To number drop by drop Thy blood’s slow loss, And yet not weep? Not so those women loved Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee; Not so fallen Peter weeping bitterly; Not so the … More A Poem for Good Friday #Poem #Poetry #GoodFriday #Christ #Rock #Moses #Rossetti

Wood: Wisdom from My Eldest Son #Poem #Poetry #Wood #Identity #Son #Wisdom #Nature

20 Mar 2023

Back in 2015, I taught a one-week summer poetry workshop. For one of their assignments, I challenged my students to compare themselves to one of the core elements or something from nature. My poem, “Elementary Matters”, based on this concept, can be found by clicking on the poem title. The poem below comes from the … More Wood: Wisdom from My Eldest Son #Poem #Poetry #Wood #Identity #Son #Wisdom #Nature

Morning: Mary Oliver’s Antidote for Tax Season #Poem #Poetry #Morning #Taxes #World #Soul #MaryOliver

6 Mar 2023

Between getting the budget lined up for March, paying my regular bills, and working on filing my taxes, I somehow lost the weekend and suffocated my soul. All I wanted to do last night was crawl into bed and just go to sleep, but I took the time to drink from Mary Oliver’s poetry. There’s … More Morning: Mary Oliver’s Antidote for Tax Season #Poem #Poetry #Morning #Taxes #World #Soul #MaryOliver

Love: It’s Worth the Pain of Loss #Poem #Poetry #Love #Loss #Tennyson #Valentine #ValentinesDay

14 Feb 2023

Though you likely won’t find this excerpt from Tennyson’s immortal poem In Memoriam A. H. H. on any top ten list of love poems (by the way, here’s a list I liked), I would argue that section 27 deserves the honor of being labeled one of the most powerful love poems ever written. Tennyson commemorates … More Love: It’s Worth the Pain of Loss #Poem #Poetry #Love #Loss #Tennyson #Valentine #ValentinesDay

Taking Time to Sabbath: Wendell Berry #Poem #Poetry #Sabbath #Wren #Live #WendellBerry

5 Feb 2023

Admittedly, I should have posted this yesterday to allow you all the time to Sabbath either on Saturday or Sunday with this Wendell Berry wafer. But as these days are full with life and activity, this post had to wait until now. And yet, the timelessness of Berry’s wisdom about “how to be alive” ever … More Taking Time to Sabbath: Wendell Berry #Poem #Poetry #Sabbath #Wren #Live #WendellBerry

Forgiveness: Phase One | Dilruba Ahmed — My Pastoral Ponderings #Poem #Poetry #Forgiveness

24 Jan 2023

Once again, My Pastoral Ponderings offers a wonderful poem that I’ve never read before and that ministers life to my soul as part of his Poem of the Week series. Forgiveness of others and ourselves is such a powerful, freeing gift, and yet, one we struggle mightily to give freely. Such a rich post and … More Forgiveness: Phase One | Dilruba Ahmed — My Pastoral Ponderings #Poem #Poetry #Forgiveness