merritt's Musings
Episodes
25 episodes
"Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats
The Second ComingBy William Butler YeatsTurning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer;Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;<...
"In Blackwater Woods" by Mary Oliver
“In Blackwater Woods” by Mary OliverLook, the treesare turningtheir own bodiesinto pillarsof light,are giving off the richfragrance of cinnamonand fulfillment,the long tapersof catt...
"God Says Yes to Me" by Kaylin Huaght
God Says Yes to MeBy Kaylin Huaght I asked God if it was okay to be melodramaticand she said yesI asked her if it was okay to be shortand she said it sure isI asked her if I could wear nail polishor not wear nail...
"The Cure of Troy" by Seamus Heaney
The Cure of Troy by Seamus HeaneyHuman beings suffer. They torture one another. They get hurt and get hard. No poem or play or song Can fully right a wrong Inflicted and endured.
"I am not I" by Jimenez
“I Am Not I”BY JUAN RAMÓN JIMÉNEZI am not I. I am this onewalking beside me whom I do not see,whom at times I manage to visit,and whom at other time...
"I Want to Age Like Seaglass" by Bernadette Noll
I want to age like sea glassBy Bernadette NollI want to age like sea glass. Smoothed by tides, not broken. I want the currents of life to toss me around, shake me up and leave me feeling washed clean....
"For a Dead Kitten" by Sarah Henderson Hay
For a Dead Kitten by Sara Henderson HayPut the rubber mouse away,Pick the spools up from the floor,What was velvet shod, and gay,Will not want them, any more.What was warm, is strangely cold.<...
"When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" by Whitman
When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer BY WALT WHITMANWhen I heard the learn’d astronomer,When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,When I was shown th...
"The Mad Gardener's Song" by Lewis Carroll
The Mad Gardener’s Songby Lewis Carroll (pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, 1832-1898)He thought he saw an ElephantThat practised on a fife:He looked again, and found it wasA letter from his wife."At length I ...
"What I Learned from My Mother" by Kasdorf
What I Learned From My MotherBY JULIA KASDORFI learned from my mother how to lovethe living, to have plenty of vases on handin case you have to rush to the hospital
"Song of the Open Road" by Walt Whitman
Song of the Open Road" by Walt Whitman(excerpts)1.Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,Healthy, free, the world before me,The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.Henceforth I as...
"Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden (with bonus e e cummings poem)
Those Winter Sundays BY ROBERT HAYDENSundays too my father got up earlyand put his clothes on in the blueblack cold,then with c...
"Dust" by Dorianne Laux
"Dust"BY DORIANNE LAUXSomeone spoke to me last night,told me the truth. Just a few words,but I recognized it.I knew I should make myself get up,write it down, but it was late,an...
"The White Knight's Song" by Lewis Carroll
"The White Knight's Song" by Lewis Carroll`I’ll tell thee everything I can;There’s little to relate.I saw an aged aged man,A-sitting on a gate.“Who are you, aged man?’ I said.“and how is it you live?”And his a...
"Dharma" by Billy Collins
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=40285“DHARMA” BY BILLY COLLINSThe way the dog trots out the front doorever...
"Cremation of Sam McGee" by Robert Service
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45081/the-cremation-of-sam-mcgeeThe Cremation of Sam McGeeBY ROBERT W. SERVICET...
"what if a much of a which of a wind" by e. e. cummings
"What if a much of a which of a wind" e. e. cummings what if a much of a which of a windgives the truth to summer's lie;bloodies with dizzying leaves the sunand yanks immort...
"The Listeners" by Walter de la Mare
The ListenersBY WALTER DE LA MARE‘Is there anybody there?’ said the Traveller, Knocki...
"White Knight's Song" by Lewis Carrol
https://stuff.mit.edu/people/dpolicar/writing/poetry/poems/whiteKnightSong.html"The White Knight's Song" by Lewis Carrol`I’ll tell the...
"The Bagel" by David Ignatow
The BagelI stopped to pick up the bagelrolling away in the wind,annoyed with myselffor having dropped itas if it were a portent.Faster and faster it ...
"The Waking" by Theodore Roethke
You can find the full text of the poem below, and by visiting: https://poets.org/poem/waking“The Waking” by Theodore Roethke
"People Like Us" by Robert Bly
"People Like Us" by Robert BlyThere are more like us. All over the worldthere are confused people, who can’t rememberThe name of their dog when they wake up, and peopleWho love God but can’t remember whereHe was when ...
"Banneker" by Rita Dove
Here is a link to this poem: https://www.poetryoutloud.org/poem/banneker/Here is the text of this poem:BannekerBy Rita DoveWhat ...