I love receiving this Poem-A-Day from the Borzoi Reader. I no longer remember when I first subscribed to this, but it is such a nice gap in the whole email query and response venue. No response required… unless I feel compelled to comment on their site,  like I did today.

I know very little about poetry and would love to study it more, but at this point I feel it’s enough just to know when something moves me.

Today’s poem just felt so quietly beautiful and captured the mystery and bittersweet poignancy of life.

Is it too early in the day to be talking about ‘bittersweet poignancy”?  I don’t think it’s ever too early or too late in the day to realize the ephemeral nature of life. It’s the truth of things.

In keeping with that theme, I offer this poem from Izumi Shikibu

Although the wind

blows terribly here,

the moonlight also leaks

between the roof planks

of this ruined house.

Speaking of poetry, it’s so wonderful that his Olympic appearance seems to have launched Shane Koyczan’s career. A couple of years ago, I heard him for the first time at the Sechelt Writer’s Festival and was yelling, crying, standing and slumped in my chair…all within minutes of the same piece.

He worked us over and threw us around like little floppy puppets with his words that slammed us, lifted us and carried us. It was incredible.

And this morning I heard him on the radio doing a spoken word piece on why we should take BC Transit. I laughed. Good for him. Very Cool. I’m guessing it’s been a long and hard haul up to this point.

Imagine? A poet possibly making a living in this country? Radical concept.