April 30, 2004

Poem on Your Blog Day

Heidi showed me the way, so I'm joining in.

My favorite poet of all time is William Blake, with Dylan Thomas coming in a close second. And, if those two aren't enough, I'll cement my stereotypical views with the admission that I'm a big fan of Shakespeare's Sonnets to boot. I know, nothing new that no one's heard of. But, it's hard to argue with greatness.

So, in keeping with the assignment, my favorite poem is Auguries of Innocence by Blake.

And, like many, my favorite bit is the oft-quoted first verse:


To see a World in a grain of sand,
And a Heaven in a wild flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,
And Eternity in an hour.…


How could I not find comfort and joy in those words? They speak loudly and well about my jiggered together version of spirituality. A bastardized, rough amalgamation of Logic, Buddhism, Taoism, Math, my personal experience, folk tales, Christianity, Physics, foreign culture, history, and great writing I've encountered that speaks to me of the capacity for greatness in humanity and how to be at peace while striving to be a better person in an amazing World. Without a doubt, I've never found a better statement of what I would want to say about the rolling dice of life and why they're so great.

So, come on bloggers, jump in on your own space (readers, post your faves in the comments. I'm always looking for new poets to read and Summer, the blissful time of free pleasure reading, is fast approaching). Everyone, throw your two cents on the poetry bandwagon (don't you love mixed metaphors?). You know it's more fun than studying for finals...

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