Tag Archive for 'Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg'

Found Poetry: The Hush of the Good

jordan published on September 24, 2010 in art. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , .

Every month SuperForester Jordan “rediscovers” a literary gem from the vast treasure trove of an art form that, in our technological age, has become largely under-appreciated and “lost”.

A few weeks ago, I finally broke down, trading in my 7 year old flip phone for the pocket godlike powers of a new iphone 4.  The technology that exists in our day and age never ceases to astound me.  Especially after watching 114 year old Walter Beuning put it in sharp context in Sheri’s post (see below).

Among the many mind-blowing apps I’ve discovered, the Poetry Foundation’s free iphone app has become a favorite. Here, spinning through their subject-based sandbox of poetry,  I found (among many others) the following glittering coin of a poem:

THE HUSH OF THE VERY GOOD

By Todd Boss

You can tell by how he lists
to let her
kiss him, that the getting, as he gets it,
is good.
It’s good in the sweetly salty,
deeply thirsty way that a sea-fogged
rain is good after a summer-long bout
of inland drought.
And you know it
when you see it, don’t you? How it
drenches what’s dry, how the having
of it quenches.
There is a grassy inlet
where your ocean meets your land, a slip
that needs a certain kind of vessel,
and
when that shapely skiff skims in at last,
trimmed bright, mast lightly flagging
left and right,
then the long, lush reeds
of your longing part, and soft against
the hull of that bent wood almost im-
perceptibly brushes a luscious hush
the heart heeds helplessly—
the hush
of the very good.

This poem was originally published by Poetry magazine in 2007.  The poet Todd Boss’ book Yellowrocket came out last year.  I had never heard of Todd before but I love the playful way his words recall nursery rhymes and the work of e e cummings. The chant-like magic of putting words together, side-by-side to create music from air.

I suspect a poem like this exists in the hearts of you all.  I encourage you to catch it, write it down.  And should fortune favor the bold… SUBMIT IT to the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry-Prizes.  Where you can win cash awards and have your poems published online!  But you have to do it before Oct 16th.

For more info read my post on Dorothy prizes, or visit dorothyprizes.org

The Ultimate Found Poetry Friday

jordan published on February 12, 2010 in art. 2 Comments Tags: , , , .

I have a confession to make.  I’ve been cheating and I know it.  I  started this column as a way to share my passion for poetry with SuperForest.  And over the months I’ve tossed out a few glittering scoopfuls of my favorite poems of all time.  Almost all from famous writers.

But the idea of “found art” is to find something raw.  A diamond in the rough that you can hold up to the sun and say: now that is something grand!

So today I present you Found Poetry in its purest form via the fabulous and inspiring poetry prize website: dorothyprizes.org

Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg was an aspiring poet and patron of the art, who’s husband established the competition in honor of his wife.  Every year any poet can submit their unpublished poems for a chance to win up to $25,000 in prizes and their work published on the website. 2009 winners have just been announced!

And the great part?  There are so many winners!  The winning poems page is like a endlessly deep sandbox full of uncounted treasures.  Just scroll down, read and uncover the wonder of words from poets from all walks of life.  Poets like you and me.

For your reading pleasure I’m posting here the very bottom of the pile, a beautiful  poem in the tradition of Ancient greek wedding poems, by LJ Sysko of Delaware:

Epithalamium

When you look out of a window,
square and sad some day in the future—

because we know sadness visits
every house—

think about these circles instead:
the one we make as a group

today to witness you give
rings to each other, making

the promise that you will,
your mouths, your lips

forming circles as you say
I do, champagne glass rims,

the circle of a garter, blue,
round layers of cake,

stacked like love
upon love upon love

and there is no end in a circle,
we know, we see, what we smell

from childhood, something baking,
mother’s perfume, a Christmas tree,

swirls in our minds, round and round
from birth to death with marriage

like a shining diamond in the middle.
So remember this day and what you

promised—to be his hero, if you can,
in small ways like bubbles in a beer,

like a dollop of cream on his coffee,
every day, and the little circles

add up, like bubbles in her bath,
like bracelets bangling,

like the doorknob turning
each night and saying, honey,

now and today
and forever, I am home.

If you like this or poetry — please go to dorothyprizes.org and read your hearts fill.