A Gathering of Poetry: November 2023

It's the third Thursday of the month so I'd like to welcome you to A Gathering of Poetry. I chose today's poem because it spoke of hope to me. I might add a few things at the end, but I'll leave it to you to determine what really matters. 

It Could Be
by Julia M. Fehrenbacher

a smile or a poem. Or new day light

that finds you through an open

window. Or perhaps, remembering

that tomorrow was never promised.

It could be the scent

of baking bread, the first chill

of autumn that has you reaching

for your favorite wool sweater. Or maybe

it's the noticing of how easily

red maple becomes and lets go.

It could be taking today off

to be still, to un-know,

to notice. To practice loosening

your troubled grip

because grace can never

be gripped or grabbed.

It could be choosing

softness in a world grown hard

because you're tired of hurting

and being hurt and mercy

is the best kind of medicine.

It could be an invitation to gather

around the listening table

where every color is beautiful, where

there is no blame,

no shame, no them—no other.

It could be any of these things

or no thing at all, that remind

you that, really, only a few

things matter—

Food, Trees, Words, Love, Mostly love.

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Fehrenbacher, Julia M. "It Could Be." Poems of Presence II, edited by Phyllis Cole-Dai and Ruby Wilson, Grayson Books, 2023, pgs. 28-29.

You can read more about the poet here.

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Thanks for reading and joining us for our monthly Gathering of Poetry. Be sure to visit Kym and Kat so you can gather more poetry and you can add your link below if you would like to share one of your favorite poems. The more the merrier!

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