Poetry Friday: Naomi Shihab Nye

Around here we're still reveling in summer, with lots of time outdoors and very little talk about back-to-school. If day camp at the Y went year-round, the 8 year old would move there happily. What's not to like about days given over to canoeing, gimp-braiding, swimming, rock collecting, and goofing around? Even the counselors in this little slice of heaven start water-bottle fights. Ah, the good life.

My choice for Poetry Friday is by Naomi Shihab Nye. I'm going use the lines "What better blessing than to move without hurry/under trees?" as my motto for the next couple of weeks.

"Last August Hours Before the Year 2000"

Spun silk of mercy,

long-limbed afternoon,

sun urging purple blossoms from baked stems.

What better blessing than to move without hurry

under trees?

Read the rest here.

Kelly Herold rounds up the other Poetry Friday posts today at the blog Big A, little a.

photo by N.T.

Comments

[TadMack]

What a lovely idea, not moving... School starts this Monday for my poor siblings, but they get three weeks off for Christmas break and two for Spring, so I remind them of this every time they whine... Enjoy the last sweet days of freedom!

[Janet]

Lovely poem. August is a season in itself, isn't it?

[Susan T.]

TadMack, school does start two weeks for Jr., so we're milking the end of summer for all it's worth. One thing we've been doing is making deviled eggs--Lainey would be proud, wouldn't she?

Thanks, Janet. This year August has not been beastly hot here in CT, so I am grateful. We're planning some fun things for the next couple of weeks.

[Mary Lee]

Here's my favorite part:

"you could lay a soaker hose across
your whole life and know
there was something
under layers of packed summer earth
and dry blown grass
to moisten."

In two months when we're in full-blown school mode, I want to lay that soaker hose on my life and remember that the tap root of ME still exists!