October in the park

I am so happy that a search for a poem to go with this photograph has led me to "The Properties of Light," by Eric Gamalinda, which has me looking forward to reading more of his work. The poem begins,

Mid-October in Central Park, one of the elms

has changed early, burning with a light

grown accustomed to its own magnificence,

You can read the rest at the Poetry Foundation.

Before signing off, I'll add another recommendation: Paige Lewis's Space Struck (Sarabande Books, 2019). Publishers Weekly says, "Like the natural environment that they often reference, Lewis’s poems are sincere, strange and vulnerable, a combination that makes this work both fragile and vital." You can hear their wonderful interview with Franny Choi and Danez Smith at the VS podcast here. I'm hoping to recommend a collection of poetry each week, and I'd love to know what you're reading, too. 

The Poetry Friday roundup, with links to more verses and poetry talk is over at Bridget Magee's place.

Photo by ST: The pond, Central Park, mid-October 2021.

Comments

[Charlotte C Taylor]

Lovely!

[Bridget Magee]

Perfect poem pairing with your photograph, Susan. Thanks for sharing both. :)

[Linda Mitchell]

Beautiful poem! I've not read that one before. Thank you.

[Susan Thomsen]

Hey, y'all. Thanks for stopping by! The poem & poet are both new to me, and I was happy to make the match, so to speak.

[Jone]

Thank you for this October poem.

[Susan T.]

You're welcome, Jone. One of my favorite months!

[Denise Krebs]

Susan, thank you for the beautiful photo and the poem by Eric Galaminda. It was interesting to read where his memories took him all around the world. I need to take you up on your recommendations of poetry books. I have not been reading poetry since I read Devotions by Mary Oliver, but I have recently finished The Underground Railroad, The Henna Artist, and what I considered a 500-page prose poem The Overstory.

[Susan T.]

Oooh, I'm putting those on my TBR list. Thank you, Denise! My husband also loved The Underground Railroad. Have you read Colm Toibin's novel about Thomas Mann, The Magician? That is SUCH a great book. One of my favorites this year.