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(1) The Valentine Shop:
(2)
The Rainbow Valentine Shop:
Maybe I shouldn't have called this "Love Poems" but "Poems I Love".
I have to admit, until the Columbia Tragedy the most important upcoming event I could see was Valentine's Day.
My perspective has changed somewhat in the last few days.
One of my favorite poets is Robert Frost.
He wrote some of my most loved poems, including "Birches".
Some of the lines that stick with me are:
"..................Earth's the right place for love:
I don't know where it's likely to go better."
They keep echoing in me since the Columbia Tragedy.I don't know where it's likely to go better."
For the 7 Astronauts aboard and their families - I sincerely hope that love can continue forever. If you want my "yes" or "no" opinon, I believe it does.
Each of us can honor the memories of the astronauts by capturing and sharing those small personal significant "connections" to something that was familiar to them, (like, for me, the significance of these favorite lines). Sharing these helps us keep the memories of these real heros of mankind "alive" and well-honored.
Birches is not a love poem in the traditional sense. It is a poem about life. And it includes love, love for life and love for man's experience ... here on earth? Have we come to a time when the expression "here on earth" will be narrow to describe the human experience. It seems that perhaps we have. How tragic that in science we go so far and yet educationally, socially, economically, we have worlds to conquer right down here. We've made steel into space ships and we've made artificial hearts, but when will we we use our healthy hearts for overcoming prejudice, hate and aggression. When will we turn our our weapons into the "ploughshares" of a better life? Today that seems further off than ever ... and it's worth remembering what Einstein said:
"I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." [related gift mug available]
Wow wow wow... not enough time to solve eternal problems today...so back to the "Birches".
Remembering the joy that we know the astronauts had in participating in STS-107 flight we can read the last 12 lines of Birches:
I'd like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over.
May no fate willfully misunderstand me
And half grant what I wish and snatch me away
Not to return. Earth's the right place for love:
I don't know where it's likely to go better.
I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.
And then come back to it and begin over.
May no fate willfully misunderstand me
And half grant what I wish and snatch me away
Not to return. Earth's the right place for love:
I don't know where it's likely to go better.
I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.
Fate it seems, misunderstood our astronauts. Or perhaps God has other tasks waiting for their souls in another place.
If these lines touched you.... you are certain to want to read the whole poem.
More poems and thoughts ... coming soon !!! Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share? Please write:
write me!
Poetry Links:
Online Guide to Poetry - Bibliomania
Poems of Carl Sandburg (includes Audio)
Robert Frost Reads His Own Poems (includes Audio)
Poems of Marianne Moore (includes Audio)
Time Line of English Language Poetry
Poet Index By Dates (of living) ... links to poetry collections
Poet Index by Name
Poems mentioning Tigers
Catalonian Poetry
