Happy Easter! Happy National Poetry Month!

I'm pleased to kick off National Poetry Month on this Easter Sunday with this carol by John M. C. Crum, "Now the Green Blade Riseth."



And for those of you who observe April Fool's Day, here's a link to Lucille Clifton's poem, "the calling of the disciples."

Stay tuned this month for posts from guest poet friends!

William Blake Talking to the Angels: Easter & National Poetry Month

(By Lucien Bégule (Photo Thierry Wagner) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Fourviere_crypte_agneau_pascal.jpg)

William Blake, British artist and poet from 1757-1827, said he talked to the angels from the time he was a youth.  Once he told others that he could "see a tree filled with angels, bright angelic wings bespangling every bough like stars" (Alexander Gilchrist, Life of William Blake: Pictor Ignotus, 2 volumes, London: Macmillan, 1863; enlarged, 1880).

He poured his visions into poetry and art, combining the two into what he called "illuminated writing." The Poetry Foundation describes the process:  "Blake's technique was to produce his text and design on a copper plate with an impervious liquid. The plate was then dipped in acid so that the text and design remained in relief. That plate could be used to print on paper, and the final copy would be then hand colored." 

His poems from Songs of Innocence are often anthologized for school students. They may be easy enough to read, but contain layers of meaning.

For this Easter weekend, I'll feature one of those, which happens to be one of my favorites.

(Public Domain, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Songs_of_Innocence_copy_B_1789_Library_of_Congress_object_29_The_Lamb.jpg)

The Lamb LITTLE lamb, Who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee, Gave thee life, and bid thee feed By the stream and o’er the mead; Gave thee clothing of delight,          Softest clothing woolly bright; Gave thee such a tender voice, Making all the vales rejoice?   Little lamb, Who made thee?   Dost thou know who made thee?         Little lamb, I’ll tell thee: Little lamb, I’ll tell thee: He is callèd by thy name, For he calls himself a Lamb. He is meek and he is mild,         He became a little child. I a child, and thou a lamb, We are callèd by his name.   Little lamb, God bless thee!   Little lamb, God bless thee!

British composer, Sir John Tavener, set Blake's words to this haunting music:

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
    be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!” 

(Revelation 5:13)

Seeking Answers to Life's Great Questions

(Salazar210 at en.wikipedia [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], from Wikimedia Commons)

"The unexamined life is not worth living," declared Socrates. And most people do spend at least a little time pondering life's great questions.  "What is my purpose in life?" "What is true love?" You know. Those questions.

(By Karora (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)

I recently read Lorna Landvik's Welcome to the Great Mysterious. Geneva, a Broadway diva, returns home to Minnesota to take care of her thirteen-year-old nephew with Down Syndrome while her sister and brother-in-law take an overseas vacation. In her sister's house, she makes a great find--a box containing The Great Mysterious. Now, it's not too much of a spoiler to tell you what the great mysterious is. It is a scrapbook created by Geneva and her sister when they were kids at their family cabin. Written out of boredom, it bore precious wisdom as they returned to it years later.

(By La Melodie, http://www.flickr.com/photos/melodyyys/6180032531/, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en)

In the Christian calendar, it's Lent, the time before Easter set aside for self-examination. Maybe it's time to create your own Great Mysterious with a group of friends or family, especially in a reunion or retreat setting. On one page, write one of life's big questions. Glue a pocket on that page and put some blank strips of paper in it. Or leave blank slips of paper and a pen near the scrapbook. Then as people wander by, they see the question and write their answer on the paper, and put it in the pocket. Later, around a campfire or coffee table, read the answers and see where the discussion takes you.

(By Brett Jordan, http://www.flickr.com/photos/x1brett/11654753993/,http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en)

What questions would you ask? Whose answers would mean the most to you?

An Easter Carol

Sunburst over a crest of a hill by C. E. Price

It's Easter and National Poetry Month! Enjoy this selection from Christina Rossetti. Wishing you Easter joy!

An Easter Carol
by
Christina Rossetti

Spring bursts to-day,
For Christ is risen and all the earth’s at play.

Flash forth, thou Sun,
The rain is over and gone, its work is done.

Winter is past,
Sweet Spring is come at last, is come at last.

Bud, Fig and Vine,
Bud, Olive, fat with fruit and oil and wine.

Break forth this morn
In roses, thou but yesterday a Thorn.

Uplift thy head,
O pure white Lily through the Winter dead.

Beside your dams
Leap and rejoice, you merry-making Lambs.

All Herds and Flocks
Rejoice, all Beasts of thickets and of rocks.

Sing, Creatures, sing,
Angels and Men and Birds and everything.

All notes of Doves
Fill all our world: this is the time of loves.

Botanic Gardens - Easter 2009 (William Murphy) / CC BY-SA 2.0

(This poem is in the public domain.)

I've known about Christina Rossetti since I was in first grade, memorizing her poem "Who Has Seen the Wind?," a poem any prairie child can understand. Read more about Rossetti, a 19th Century poet, here. See more of her poems here.

Happy Easter, Happy National Poetry Month!

(photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/esqenzo/1665121349/in/photostream/ by Jaypeg21)

It's Easter weekend and National Poetry Month, no better time to celebrate and read the poetry of George Herbert. Herbert, a British poet in the 17th century, was also a priest. He is known as one of the metaphysical poets, who wrote about theories of existence and knowledge. As a priest, Herbert applied Christian themes to his theories and is known as a poet who used metaphor skillfully. His poetry typographically often creates shapes, as in his famous "Easter Wings."

Easter Wings

Lord, who createdst man in wealth and store,
Though foolishly he lost the same,
Decaying more and more,
Till he became
Most poore:
With thee
Oh let me rise
As larks, harmoniously,
And sing this day thy victories:
Then shall the fall further the flight in me.

My tender age in sorrow did beginne:
And still with sicknesses and shame
Thou didst so punish sinne,
That I became
Most thinne.
With thee
Let me combine
And feel this day thy victorie:
For, if I imp my wing on thine
Affliction shall advance the flight in me.
—-George Herbert, Easter Wings from The Temple (1633)

(Portrait of George Herbert (poet) by Robert White in 1674. From National Portrait Gallery (UK))

To see how the printed version appeared and fully appreciate the "wings" imagery, click here.

Happy Easter!

The Easter Egg, Jan Brett's New Book

(photo by Butterfly Sha www.flickr.com/photos/butterflysha/129107480/)

Jan Brett is back in her bus, touring the country to spread the word about her new book, The Easter Egg.

Brett knew from the time she was in kindergarten that she wanted to be an illustrator! She understands that not everyone realizes their talents at such a young age, and wrote and illustrated The Easter Egg to explore that theme. Enjoy this forty-second video about the book:
or click here for a three-minute version.

Read my blog post about Jan Brett's 2008 visit to South Dakota and this article about The Easter Egg from the Casper Journal.

Happy Easter!

Live in the Moment

“Live in the moment.” Surely you’ve heard that before and discovered living in the moment is easier said than done. Our pasts color our present and future with memories and experiences. Our futures are unknown, leaving our presents fraught with anticipation or anxiety. If we think too much about the past or future, we will miss out on the here and now. Yes, memories can give us joy, and experiences give us lessons. Planning for the future is good and responsible. But thinking too much about either leaves us without a present.

Karina Sabac http://www.karinasabac.com/, a concert pianist, says that music is one thing in the moment. If you think about anything else for a second, you miss playing or hearing the note, detracting from the piece as a whole.

Stop right now and notice the sights, sounds, and smells around you. During what activities do you concentrate solely on the activity and nothing else? What activities make you feel most alive?

This year’s Easter sermon reminded the congregation that because of the resurrection, we need not fear death. The pastor’s main message, though, was that we need not fear life.

Dare to live in the moment—one moment at a time.