This morning I compared the message of an essayist to “The Gift.” That poem by Li-Young Lee describes how self-discipline was taught to a young boy by his father, who calmly tells him a story while removing a splinter. Search for that story and you will find it.
“to get the news from poems . . .”
I also received an email with links to
Poems of Joy, Hope, and Community
One of them is by Alberto Rios. I have had a soft spot for Rios since reading his poems about death by avocado and because he was born the same year I was.
When Giving Is All We Have
Alberto Ríos – 1952-
One river gives
Its journey to the next.
We give because someone gave to us.
We give because nobody gave to us.
We give because giving has changed us.
We give because giving could have changed us.
We have been better for it,
We have been wounded by it—
Giving has many faces: It is loud and quiet,
Big, though small, diamond in wood-nails.
Its story is old, the plot worn and the pages too,
But we read this book, anyway, over and again:
Giving is, first and every time, hand to hand,
Mine to yours, yours to mine.
You gave me blue and I gave you yellow.
Together we are simple green. You gave me
What you did not have, and I gave you
What I had to give—together, we made
Something greater from the difference.
I have not donated to the nonprofit Academy of American Poets this year. Perhaps you will find enough comfort in this website to help them continue their offerings of hope.
It can be helpful to spend a few moments each day with language to maintain our well-being and fortitude. As we find ways to come together while apart, please find a selection of poems our team has curated especially for you, from Poets.org:
“Darling Coffee” by Meena Alexander
“For Keeps” by Joy Harjo
“Song Out Here” by Juan Felipe Herrera
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” by James Weldon Johnson
“These Poems” by June Jordan
“Leisure” by Amy Lowell
“The Last Thing” by Ada Limón
“So Much Happiness” by Naomi Shihab Nye
“Cento Between the Ending and the End” by Cameron Awkward-Rich
“When Giving Is All We Have” by Alberto Ríos
“Everyone Sang” by Siegfried Sassoon
“The Flower at My Window” by Lucian B. Watkins
“The Things That Count” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
“[I wandered lonely as a Cloud]” by William Wordsworth
“To All My Friends” by May Yang
IMPERFECT PATIENCE 