Poetry Friday: Thinking of Winter at the Height of Summer

Lisa — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:01:00 -0700

Welcome to this week's Poetry Friday round-up! It's great fun to be part of this community, and I'm thrilled to take my turn hosting. For those of you visiting my blog for the first time, welcome, and for those of you returning, welcome back.

In northern Illinois, we're finally shaking off the (admittedly gorgeous) spring weather and moving into true summer: hot, muggy, and buggy. At the same time, the days are growing shorter, this constant reminder of winter's approach. Here's a little Keats that seems fitting.

On the Grasshopper and Cricket

The poetry of earth is never dead:
    When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
    And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;
That is the Grasshopper's—he takes the lead
    In summer luxury,—he has never done
    With his delights; for when tired out with fun
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
    On a lone winter evening, when the frost
        Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills
The Cricket's song, in warmth increasing ever,
    And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,
        The Grasshopper's among some grassy hills.

—John Keats

There's an interesting story to go with this poem. Keats and fellow poet and friend (James Henry) Leigh Hunt had a tradition of friendly competition, and "On the Grasshopper and Cricket" supposedly came out of a 15-minute sonnet-writing contest on December 30, 1816.

Hunt's poem, "To the Grasshopper and the Cricket" is also a treat, though I favor the Keats a little more. I think it's that lovely line, "The poetry of earth is ceasing never," that does it for me.

Round-Up

If you like, please leave your link to your Poetry Friday post in the comments below. I'll add it to the round-up as promptly as I can!

Cloudscome, of A Wrung Sponge, shares an original poem "Baby Gate," from the perspective of a retired baby gate.
David E., of Fomagrams, shares an original poem from a recent workshop, "Clothesline."
Stacey, of Two Writing Teachers, shares The Eagle and the Bear," a poem about strength by David J. Pipkin.
Sherry, of Semicolon, shares a beautiful (and timely) poem written by her daughter, "Beach."
John Mutford, of The Book Mine Set, reviews Hand to Hand, a collection of poems by Nadine McInnis.
Writer2B shares some of her favorite Suzanne Vega lyrics.
Elaine Magliaro, of Wild Rose Reader and Blue Rose Girls, shares two poems: "Taos," by Cynthia Gray (not to mention lovely photographs from Elaine's trip to the Rio Grande), and "A Green Crab's Shell, by Mark Doty.
Mary Lee, of A Year of Reading, shares "Catalogue," by Rosalie Moore. (Incidentally, it's about cats, not books, and Mary Lee has posted some cute kitty photos to go with it.)
Jama Rattigan shares a poem about one of my favorite musical groups of yore, Simon & Garfunkel: "A Duet," by Kevin McFadden.
Eisha, of 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast, shares "Leda," from Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon's book Black Swan.
Laura Salas discusses her favorite poetry how-to books (be sure to follow the link near the bottom to read the rest of her article). Each week, she also invites all poets to share their poems of 15 words or less.
Kelly Fineman, of Writing and Ruminating, shares and discusses "Porphyria's Lover," by Robert Browning.
Michele, of Scholar's Blog, shares "Listen..." by Ogden Nash.
Christy, of Positively Everything, shares "Sleep in the Mojave Desert," by Sylvia Plath, in celebration of her own recent journey through the Mojave.
Ruth, of There Is No Such Thing as a God-Forsaken Town, shares "Adelstrop," by Edward Thomas.
Marcie, of World of Words, shares an original (and mouth-watering) haiku about strawberries.
Karen Edmisten highlights two of her favorite Poetry Friday bloggers.
Tiel Aisha Ansari, of Knocking from Inside, shares an original poem, "First Light," inspired by a painting.
Becky, of Becky's Book Reviews, shares "Shower," from Linda Sue Park's collection Tap Dancing on the Roof.
Little Willow shares the lyrics to "Climbing Uphill," by Jason Robert Brown, from the musical The Last Five Years.
Susan, of Chicken Spaghetti, shares "Alone," by Edgar Allen Poe.
MotherReader shares her poetic interpretation of Barack Obama's "Yes We Can" speech.
Monica Edinger, of Educating Alice, shares three poems by J. Patrick Lewis. (Would that I received personal poems in my email!)
Jennie, of Biblio File, shares "Lessons of War: Judging Distances," by Henry Reed.
Gina Ruiz shares "Sunset, Eight in the Evening," by Cuitlamiztli Carter.
Anastasia Suen shares poetry lesson plans to go with Where in the Wild?: Camouflaged Creatures Concealed... and Revealed.
Suzanne, of Adventures in Daily Living, shares "Little Summer Poem Touching the Subject of Faith," by Mary Oliver, and recommends the poetry collection For a Child: Great Poems Old and New, edited by Wilma McFarland.
Carol, of Carol's Corner, shares "The First Time," a beach-minded poem by Ralph Fletcher.
Tricia, of The Miss Rumphius Effect, shares "Why Latin Should Still Be Taught in High School," by Christopher Bursk.
HipWriterMama shares "Dear Doctor, I Have Read Your Play," by Lord Byron.
Cuileann, of The Holly and the Ivy, shares "The Truth the Dead Know," by Anne Sexton.
Charlotte, of Charlotte's Library, reviews Crocs, written by David T. Greenberg and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger.
And Jim Danielson brings the day to a lovely close with his original poem "Blue Lake—July 5."

Thanks, everyone, for swinging by!

Posts on round-up

Poetry Friday: Thinking of Winter at the Height of Summer

On the Grasshopper and Cricket

Round-Up