Poetry | Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires

Recessional by Rudyard Kipling

Anita Mathias — Mon, 02 May 2011 15:23:00 +0000

Recessional BY RUDYARD KIPLING 1897 God of our fathers, known of old, Lord of our far-flung battle-line, Beneath whose awful Hand we hold Dominion over palm and pine— Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget—lest we forget! The tumult and the shouting dies; The Captains and the Kings […]

The post Recessional by Rudyard Kipling first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

Ash Wednesday by T.S. Eliot

Anita Mathias — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 19:15:00 +0000

Ash WednesdayT.S. Eliot Because I do not hope to turn againBecause I do not hopeBecause I do not hope to turnDesiring this man’s gift and that man’s scopeI no longer strive to strive towards such things(Why should the agèd eagle stretch its wings?)Why should I mournThe vanished power of the usual reign? Because I do […]

The post Ash Wednesday by T.S. Eliot first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

Fire and Ice By Robert Frost

Anita Mathias — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 12:44:00 +0000

Fire and Ice By Robert Frost Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And […]

The post Fire and Ice By Robert Frost first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

Poems on Marriage from Wendell Berry and R. S. Thomas

Anita Mathias — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 00:46:00 +0000

AnniversaryNineteen years nowUnder the same roofEating our bread,Using the same air:Sighing, if one sighs,Meeting the other’sWords with a lookThat thaws suspicion. Nineteen years nowSharing life’s table,And not to be firstTo call the meal longWe balance it thoughtfullyOn the tip of the tongue.Careful to maintainThe strict palate. Nineteen years nowKeeping simple house.Opening the doorTo friend and […]

The post Poems on Marriage from Wendell Berry and R. S. Thomas first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

The Journey of the Magi, by T.S. Eliot. A Poem for Epiphany

Anita Mathias — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:49:00 +0000

This is a wonderfully dense poem. Note the compression of language, the abundance of details, the effects of repetition, and rhythm, the overarching tone of sadness, and world-weary experience. Listen to T.S. Eliot read his own poem at http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoem.do?poemId=7070 The Journey of the Magi, by T.S. Eliot “A cold coming we had of it, Just the […]

The post The Journey of the Magi, by T.S. Eliot. A Poem for Epiphany first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

Ithaka, by Constantine Cavafy, Read by Sean Connery. Full text included.

Anita Mathias — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 01:12:00 +0000

Ithaka Constantine Cavafy As you set out for Ithakahope the voyage is a long one,full of adventure, full of discovery.Laistrygonians and Cyclops,angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:you’ll never find things like that on your wayas long as you keep your thoughts raised high,as long as a rare excitementstirs your spirit and your body.Laistrygonians and […]

The post Ithaka, by Constantine Cavafy, Read by Sean Connery. Full text included. first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

A Song on the End of the World–Czeslaw Milosz

Anita Mathias — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:44:00 +0000

Wikio Bookmark this on Delicious

The post A Song on the End of the World–Czeslaw Milosz first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

Derek Walcott Reads. The Classics can Console/But Not Enough

Anita Mathias — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:40:00 +0000

Wikio Bookmark this on Delicious

The post Derek Walcott Reads. The Classics can Console/But Not Enough first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

“Rembrandt’s Late Self-Portraits” by Elizabeth Jennings

Anita Mathias — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 22:20:00 +0000

Listen to Elizabeth Jennings read this at http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoem.do?poemId=1555 “Rembrandt’s Late Self-Portraits” by Elizabeth Jennings You are confronted with yourself. Each yearThe pouches fill, the skin is uglier.You give it all unflinchingly. You stareInto yourself, beyond. Your brush’s careRuns with self-knowledge. Here Is a humility at one with craft.There is no arrogance. Pride is apartFrom this […]

The post “Rembrandt’s Late Self-Portraits” by Elizabeth Jennings first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.

Robert Haas reads “Envy of Other People’s Poems”

Anita Mathias — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 23:48:00 +0000

Envy of Other People’s PoemsIn one version of the legend the sirens couldn’t sing.It was only a sailor’s story that they could.So Odysseus, lashed to the mast, was harrowedBy a music that he didn’t hear—plungings of sea,Wind-sheer, the off-shore hunger of the birds—And the mute women gathering kelp for garden mulch,Seeing him strain against the […]

The post Robert Haas reads “Envy of Other People’s Poems” first appeared on Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires.