Concerning That Prayer I Cannot Make
(excerpt)
… I come here every day
to be beneath this bridge,
to sit beside this river,
so I must have seen the way
the clouds just slide
under the rusty arch—
without snagging on the bolts,
how they are borne along on the dark water—
I must have noticed their fluent speed
and also how that tattered blue T-shirt
remains snagged on the crown
of the mostly sunk dead tree
despite the current’s constant pulling….
in To the Wren the full collected edition of poems by (1958-2019) by Jane Mead (published in Alice James Books) Read the full poem at this link.
Invitation: “I must have seen the way …”
More about Jane Mead and this poem by Jane Mead in Poetry Unbound
We will meet for the Community Table Monday, October 13th, at 4:30 PM ET
Contact us for information HERE.
If you are enjoying The Community Table and would like to support our work consider making a donation. While the offerings on the Community Table will always be free - we appreciate any support you can provide to continue helping us set the table for creating community.
Our friend Penny Williamson
Circles of Courageous Commons would like to share our friend Penny Williamsons’ new work! Check out the Substack they created with their friend Darcy Shaw. Follow along and maybe find a friend to write or share a story with!
Sara Makeba Daise book is out!
Alice Graham and Francis Lee and Sally Z. Hare are honored to co-host the online Book Launch through still learning, inc., for our friend, Sara Makeba Daise.
Sara’s words touch us deeply. We recognize the importance of Sara’s new book, Sankofa Shadow Work: Diaries of Diasporic Diviner, for each of us – and we want to share it with you.
What: Online Book Party to celebrate the launch of Sankofa Shadow Work
When: 5-6 pm ET/4-5 pm CT/2-3 pm PT on Sunday, October 26
Where: still learning’s Zoom room
Meeting ID: 438 627 4031 Passcode: hope
Dress: comfy and elegant
Refreshments: We haven’t figured out how to offer refreshments on Zoom, so please bring whatever you’d like (maybe something for a toast!)
Learn More About Circles of Courageous Commons HERE
Intellect snags instinct and holds it, like the remnant of a dead hero, as the world marches on. An academic poem. Too bad academia has conquered poetry and held it captive. OTOH …Thank goodness something has saved poetry from death.
I love the image of the poet sitting under the bridge every day and watching the river go by... there is something both reassuring and compelling about watching a river flow by.