In the clatter and clamor of our lives, we need ways to connect deeply with our souls. Whenever we feel depleted, poetry invariably refreshes and refuels us.
Poets are cheerleaders for our spirits. They lift us up with their enthusiasm, and inspire us to go on no matter what. They notice things we overlook in our haste and hurry, and tutor us in the art of long looking. They open our eyes to the wonders that abound in the natural world, to the enchantments of animals, and the glories in the galaxies.
Poets recognize spiritual teachers all around us. They tell us to take off our blinders and see divine grace operating in our lives. Their songs of praise and lament speak the words it is sometimes hard for us to articulate. They put us into the presence of the ineffable and the holy. They tap into our deepest yearnings and take us on adventures into strange lands and incredible places. They enable us to appreciate the great mysteries at the heart of all our experiences and feelings.
This poetry is sacred. It transports us beyond our narrow concerns and challenges us to look at ourselves and our world with fresh eyes.
April is National Poetry Month and as fine a time as ever to salute and to savor the sacred poetry of some of our favorite poets. We will present a new poem every day this month for your pleasure and spiritual enrichment. The link below each poem takes you to our review of the book where we found it so you can go deeper into this rich source of inspiration and nourishment.
Enjoy!
April 1: The Sun Never Says by Daniel Ladinsky as Hafiz
April 2: One Song by Rumi
April 3: Metamorphosis by May Sarton
April 4: Attachment by Vasant Lad
April 5: Questions by Ghalib
April 6: Ryokan and Mary Lou Kownacki
April 7: Hum by Mary Oliver
April 8: All That Is Joy by Rabindranath Tagore
April 9: My Joy by Rabi'a
April 10: Haiku by Buson and Issa
April 11: Ecstatic Poems by Kabir
April 12: Beauty and Ugliness by Lao Tzu
April 13: Waging Peace by Sarah Klassan
April 14: The Same Inside by Anna Swir
April 15: Tears by Svein Myreng
April 16: That Nature Is a Heraclitean Fire and of the Comfort of the Resurrection by Gerard Manley Hopkins
April 17: There Is No Road by Antonio Machado
April 18: Don't Make Lists by Dorothy Walters
April 19: Aware by Denise Levertov
April 20: 1979 by Wendell Berry
April 21: I Like You by Kevin Anderson
April 22: Roll Call by William Stafford
April 23: Stone by Charles Simic
April 24: For What Binds Us by Jane Hirshfield
April 25: Love after Love by Derek Walcott
April 26: Healing by Joseph Bruchac
April 27: Ars Poetica by Blaga Dimitrova
April 28: Earth Verse by Gary Snyder
April 29: The Good News by Thich Nhat Hanh
April 30: Hold on to April by Jesse Stuart
