Reading Nelson

Today, during my lunch I read from Marilyn Nelson's The Fields Of Praise; it has been a while since I picked up the book, and I needed to take in Nelson's poetic beauty to drone out the stress of work. I love Nelson's poetry, and I am very thankful that I was able to hear her read at the 2nd Annual Palm Beach Poetry Festival, which was held last year.

I wanted to share a few lines that I thoroughly enjoyed in her poem "Mama's Promise"...

"I buckle him in, but what if a car
with a grille like a sharkbite
roared up out of the road?"

I love this simile-- it paints such a vivid picture for me, and I find it fresh.


Another part I enjoy from the poem.....

"Sometimes I lie awake
troubled by this thought:
It's not so simple to give a child birth;
you also have to give it death,
the jealous fairy's christening gift."

I love that she's writing about a dark truth beautifuly.



If haven't read any of Marilyn Nelson then you need to google her. She's linked on my blog.