For daughters, from Mermaids in the Basement.
from For My Daughter / by Carolyn Kizer
I held my breath that night
to the light sound of rain
and prayed you to grow.
20th-Century American Poetry
DPF / Moss
For an apt metaphor for drilling to the core of any of us, from The American Poetry Review, January / February 2016, in an article about Moss by Laurence Lieberman. If I have gathered the title incorrectly, please message me for the correction. Obviously, I should buy the book.
from Poem of Self / by Stanley Moss
Putting his back into the drill, as if the tree were marble,
he quickly passed through American history,
knot and counter-knot, to the age of Mozart,
through the Baroque, through Shakespeare grain
DPF / Guest
For stories and prayers, from poetryfoundation.org.
from Thanksgiving / by Edgar Albert Guest (1881–1959)
Greetings fly fast as we crowd through the door
And under the old roof we gather once more
Just as we did when the youngsters were small;
DPF / Kizer
For 42 years and a month ago, from poetryfoundation.org.
from October 1973 / by Carolyn Kizer
Last night I dreamed I ran through the streets of New York
Looking for help for you, Nicanor.
DPF / Jarrell
For the day, from Academy of American Poets.
from The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner / by Randall Jarrell (1914-1965)
Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
DPF / Lies
For bats in polka dot bathing suits, from my little boy’s library.
from Bats on the Beach / by Brian Lies
Little bats dig their sand caves deep,
as old bats lie in the moon, asleep.
DPF / Hacker
For pumpkin soup, from poetryfoundation.org.
from Days of 1994: Alexandrians / by Marilyn Hacker, b. 1942
Four months (I say) I’ll see her, see him again.
(I dream my life; I wake to contingencies.)
Now I walk home along the river,
into the wind, as the clouds break open.
DPF / Fearing
For magazines and dreams, from The Oxford Book of American Poetry, edited by David Lehman.
from X Minus X / by Kenneth Fearing
Still there will be your desire, and her desire, and his
desire, and their desire,
your laughter, their laughter
DPF / Tretheway
For journeys, from The Academy of American Poets at poets.org
from Theories of Time and Space / by Natasha Tretheway
Bring only
what you must carry—tome of memory
its random blank pages. On the dock
where you board the boat for Ship Island,
someone will take your picture:
the photograph—who you were—
will be waiting when you return
DPF / Coolidge
For autumns, from poetryfoundation.org.
from The Country Autumns / by Clark Coolidge
Two plates, and on the other side all the
forest pieces. The clock says stay.
The books lower the earth, and in gardens
flat stones spin.
Daily Poetry Fragments {Semi-Daily} 