Connecting to nature through poetry and prose
The red-winged blackbird is one of Vermont’s early migrators. Today, we are investigating the red-winged blackbird, its migration patterns, and reading parts of “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” by Wallace Stevens.
“With a rare leaf for a roof in the rain,/With a rare cap for his cardinal hood,/The cardinal bird remains”-Orrick Johns. The Northern Cardinal is a striking bird that has captured the imagination of poets for generations. To honor this bird, we are reading cardinal related poetry for Orrick Johns, Nancy McCleery, and Alfred Noyes.
“The mourning dove/ wearing noon’s aureole/ coos from the rhododendron”(excerpt from “What the Dove Sings” by Carol Frost) Today we honor the mourning dove with poems by Emily Dickinson, Joe Tessitor, Carol Frost, and Galway Kinnel.
“Your sort of gorgeousness,/Dark and lustrous/And unfathomable/And poopy-glossy/ Is the gorgeousness that evokes my darkest admiration”- D.H. Lawrence. Today we honor the wild turkey with a poem and then an investigation into Benjamin Franklin’s thoughts about this native bird.
We have entered the micro-season of “Fish Rise From the Ice''. We are honoring this time of year by looking at the tradition of ice fishing and reading “The Fish” by William Butler Yeats.
Snowshoe hares, or Lepus americanus, are frequent visitors to our neighborhood. Finding their tracks in the snow reminds me of how fascinating these animals are and some of the poems they inspire
We are at the end of the micro-season, “The Chicken Lays Her First Eggs”. Although, Chickens may not be laying very many eggs in New England right now, we do have traditions like Groundhog's Day and poetry by Hickler, Issa, and Kerouac to remind us that spring is coming.
With this weekend’s massive snowstorm behind us, we now turn to Longfellow, Emerson, Issa, Buson, and Basho, to get their thoughts on snowstorms. Some thoughts are positive, and others not so much.
We are at the end of the micro-season, “The Mountain Stream Freezes Over”. This micro-season is the second part of the mini season Major Cold. We celebrate this season with poetry and an investigation into the importance of the earth’s fresh water system.
Sunshine rides on space and poetry on sunshine./Poetry gives birth to sunshine, and sunshine to poetry.-excerpt from Armfuls of Poetry, Drops of Sunshine by Thich Nhat Hahn. On January 22, 2022, Thich Nhat Hanh passed away at Tu Hieu Temple in Hue, Vietnam. Today we honor his work by looking at his teachings and his poetry.
Jacqueline Siskin states that “Awe” lies at the heart of poetry. Awe allows us to see what matters in the world. It helps us find the joy, the sorrow, and the connections that can lead to individual and collective healing.
Gazing up into the darkness on a clear winter night, I quickly get lost in my own mind with thoughts about life and the vastness of time. Luckily I have poets like Teasdale, Hughes, Basho, Issa, Buson, and Toshimi to provide me company.
Naturalist Weekly 