National Poetry Month: April 30th

April 30, 2010

April 18 by Sylvia Plath

the slime of all my yesterdays
rots in the hollow of my skull

and if my stomach would contract
because of some explicable phenomenon
such as pregnancy or constipation

I would not remember you

or that because of sleep
infrequent as a moon of greencheese
that because of food
nourishing as violet leaves
that because of these

and in a few fatal yards of grass
in a few spaces of sky and treetops

a future was lost yesterday
as easily and irretrievably
as a tennis ball at twilight

This poem was selected by Sue M. (Reader’s Services)

Poetry Copyright Notice



National Poetry Month: April 28th

April 28, 2010

Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven by W. B. Yeats

Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

This poem was selected by Mary B. (Reader’s Services)

Poetry Copyright Notice




National Poetry Month: April 25th

April 25, 2010

Love Sonnet XIV by Pablo Neruda

I don’t have time enough to celebrate your hair.
One by one I should detail your hairs and praise them.
Other lovers want to live with particular eyes;
I only want to be your stylist.

In Italy the call you Medusa,
because of the high bristling light of your hair.
I call you curly, my tangler;
my heart knows the doorways of your hair. Continue reading “National Poetry Month: April 25th”



National Poetry Month: April 23rd (Happy Birthday, William Shakespeare!)

April 23, 2010

Sonnet XXVII by William Shakespeare

WEARY with toil, I haste me to my bed,
The dear repose for limbs with travel tired;
But then begins a journey in my head,
To work my mind, when body’s work’s expired:
For then my thoughts, from far where I abide,
Intend a zealous pilgrimage to thee,
And keep my drooping eyelids open wide,
Looking on darkness which the blind do see
Save that my soul’s imaginary sight
Presents thy shadow to my sightless view,
Which, like a jewel hung in ghastly night,
Makes black night beauteous and her old face new.
            Lo! thus, by day my limbs, by night my mind,
            For thee and for myself no quiet find.

This poem was selected by Lesley W. (Reference Librarian)



Some Verse for the Earth

If after waking this morning you noticed a palpable buzz in the air, fear not for your senses do not deceive you and your coffee is not to blame.  Today is simply a big day.  As you are almost certainly aware after three weeks of non-stop poetic feasting, National Poetry Month is still going strong.  What’s more, today is Earth Day, and when two celebrations of this magnitude converge, the resulting super holiday demands proper commemoration.  Thankfully, we have the wonderfully unique poetry collection News of the Universe with which to mark this worthy occasion.  Whether you’re looking to motivate your first reducing, reusing, and recycling efforts, to renew your vow to live a leaner, greener lifestyle, or to simply read some breathtaking poetry, News of the Universe is a book that will leave you awestruck and inspired.

Continue reading “Some Verse for the Earth”


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