August 6: Toni Morrison, Unsinkable. "It Comes Unadorned"

The great Toni Morrison died today.  

That news sort of took my breath away this morning.  For me, it was like hearing about the sinking of a great ship that seemed unsinkable.  She has been a part of life since I first read Beloved when I was an undergrad.  And I can't imagine a world without her voice in it.

Saint Marty is going to give the last words of this post to President Barack Obama:

Toni Morrison was a national treasure, as good a storyteller, as captivating, in person as she was on the page.  Her writing was a beautiful, meaningful challenge to our conscience and our moral imagination.  What a gift to breathe the same air as her, if only for a while.

It Comes Unadorned

by:  Toni Morrison

It comes
Unadorned
Like a phrase
Strong enough to cast a spell;
It comes
Unbidden,
Like the turn of sun through hills
Or stars in wheels of song.
The jeweled feet of women dance the earth.
Arousing it to spring.
Shoulders broad as a road bend to share the weight of years.
Profiles breach the distance and lean
Toward an ordinary kiss.
Bliss.
It comes naked into the world like a charm.

February 4: Twitter Poetry, Micropoetry, Elizabeth Alexander

One of the recent developments in poetry is what has been termed micropoetry.  Poets use the constraints of Twitter to write short, concise, beautiful poems.  Almost haiku.  In 140 characters.  It's a difficult challenge.  But some of the best poets working do it.  Billy Collins.  Sherman Alexie.

And Elizabeth Alexander. Alexander was the poet for President Obama's first inauguration.  Widely unknown before January 20, 2009, she became a poet of note.  A poet to listen to.  A poet whose words matter.

She is also a poet who tweets poems, and she does it beautifully.

Saint Marty would kill to write a poem so concise and gorgeous.

Tweet

by:  Elizabeth Alexander

Inside the darkened bathroom/ we looked into the black mirror/ cracked the wintergreen candy/ watched sparks fly from our teeth.

How shall I tweet thee...