Harmonica at Carnegie Hall

Unfolding by Carl Dennis

Jonathan recently shared a poem with me which is beautiful and profound, joyful, and sad at the same time which is the mark of great poetry. I hope that I am not infringing upon copyright laws by sharing with you, but I don't think that I am. Here is the poem:

Unfolding

If there is no spirit unfolding itself in history,

No gradual growth of consciousness

Beneath the land grabs and forced migrations,

The bought elections, the betrayal of trust

By party faction in the name of progress--

What about spirit in the personal realm

Unfolding slowly inside us, so slowly

That our best days seem like a holding action?

Seasons repeat themselves, but the tree

Shading the yard keeps growing.

Don't be chagrined that the sadness you felt

This evening beside the bed of a friend

Who's growing weaker wasn't more profound

Than the sadness of yesterday, that you still

Can't imagine a fraction of what he's feeling

As the world he loves slips from his grasp.

No progress from your perspective,

But who's to say what you might notice

If the scroll of the last few months were unrolled

On the table before you, how clear it might be

That your understanding of all you're losing

In losing him has been slowly deepening?

Another day, you say to yourself, at dusk

As you climb your porch steps, which you notice

Could use some scraping and painting this weekend,

A fresh coat that with luck will last a year.

--Carl Dennis

If I understand the posting that Jonathan forwarded to me, I believe that this poem was published in The New Yorker. Amazing Grace.

February 1, 2012

Is it really February? Here in Philly, according to the news, even the wildlife is mixed up. The bees have been out foraging, to no avail. I was outside around three this afternoon basking in the warm sunshine! Unbelievable! It has to be close to 70 out there. I realize that winter will probably come back before all is said and done, but I am really enjoying this!!!!