Good Poems for Hard Times

There is no more timely or apropos book title than this one, edited by Garrison Keillor. The poems included have been featured on his NPR segment, The Writer's Almanac, and are divided into sections such as "Kindness to Snails" and "The Lust of Tenderness." Poems are wondrous things; they convey an entire event, an emotion, even a solitary item in a few pages, and the good ones always leave us wanting more. Poets with whom we click take us out of ordinary life, and allow us to see the beauty surrounding us that we so frequently miss. I love this book, and am guaranteed to find something to turn my day around each time I crack open the binding, even it's just the introduction. Some of my favorites include "No Longer a Teenager" by Gerald Locklin, "The Discovery of Sex" by Debra Spencer, "The Love Cook" by Ron Padgett, and "In Praise of My Bed" by Meredith Holmes, which I'll leave you with for today.

At last I can be with you!
The grinding hours
since I left your side!
The labor of being fully human,
working my opposable thumb,
talking, and walking upright.
Now I have unclasped
unzipped, stepped out of.
Husked, soft, a be-er only,
I do nothing, but point
my bare feet into your
clean smoothness
feel your quiet strength
the whole length of my body.
I close my eyes, hear myself
moan, so grateful to be held this way.

P.S. Mommi sent in this picture of me getting my copy of the collection signed by Mr. Keillor himself in June 2007. Notice that his tie is about as tall as one of my legs. He has quite the compelling voice; please see him in person if you get a chance!