The first time I read the poem I don’t know what I’m in for, so I walk through the words with ever-growing wonder. Isn’t that the way with every new text? An adventure awaits; if we’re lucky and the timing is right, the promise delivers. By the end, I am in tears.
I call my husband in to share it aloud with him—it must be sounded. Though one could argue that for all poems, it’s indisputable for this one! The sound of it deepens the experience. And again, by the final lines, those tears that have been hovering on the edges cascade.
It was January, 2018, the beginning of my first full year of retirement, when I committed to memorizing a poem, at least one, every month, so by December of that year I’d have my own personal collection of at least a dozen favorites. When I was teaching full-time, I’d talk to my students about memorizing, those eighth graders ever-ready with why, and my teasing response that were they ever incarcerated, they’d have something to elevate their minds seemed wacky enough to entice them.
In November of that year during my time in Houston for the NCTE Convention, I visited the Rothko Chapel and sat in this “meditative space filled with his paintings,” softly reciting “my” poems. This was what I honestly told the students: poems become yours, company and comfort in your cluttered mind, when you “know” them.
We practiced many strategies for successful memorization, often taken from the wonderful Shakespeare Set Free, a Folgers Library publication. One of those was to carry a copy of the poem with you and read it over when you had a moment.(I wonder if that’s the genesis of “Poem in Your Pocket” Day.)
So that’s what I did last Saturday when I headed out for my hike on Yaquina Head. I was going to memorize this poem whose voice I could not ignore; I was going to make it mine! “Life on Earth” by Dorianne Laux hugged my heart—luck and timing.
And today I see these words as I say them to myself; I breathe in and out with the beauty of them. I imagine sharing them with an almost-here “unmistakeable you.” The promise of poetry—delivered.
(Thanks to Tammy of Inspiration & Magic substack and her weekly “Sunday Coffee Share newsletter. I wouldn’t have written this today without her.)
Jump off; Find Wings 
Trish, you unmistakable you! What a gorgeous poem. Thank you for introducing it with your likewise gorgeous prose. This is giving me some wonderful thoughts to begin my day. Those lines about William Forsyth (both of them) as “only a few of the things you will one day know” are so engaging and convincing. Thank you for sharing.
I love it so, the mix of science fact and the mystery that is life. (I memorized the part about the two Forsyths without a moment’s hesitation!)
I finished reading an amazing book the other day, and I can really connect with your idea that an adventure awaits with every new text. There is nothing more satisfying then when that promise delivers.
What a beautiful and moving account of your journey with this poem – the way it captivated you from the first reading, how you committed to memorizing it as part of a personal challenge, and the deep connection you formed with the words. The image of you softly reciting your memorized poems in the serene Rothko Chapel is such a lovely one, reinforcing the idea that poems can become true companions that elevate and comfort us. I’m glad you found this particular poem, “Life on Earth” by Dorianne Laux, and that it has become a cherished part of your personal poetic collection.
I know it’s because of the imminent arrival of my first grandchild that played in the “timing” but am so glad it came to me!
Thanks for your lovely response, Stacey.
Absolutely breathtaking! What an exquisite practice, to memorize a poem each month, and to share with your students the importance of this, that “poems become yours, company and comfort in your cluttered mind,”…and that poem…oh, just gorgeous. A treasure indeed, especially with your new grandchild on their way!
Thanks, Maureen. I am so much better at making them mine with memorization rather than writing my own.
I am stunned by the poem and its ending- ‘the bounty of good luck you were born for.’
I used to love to memorize and have gotten out of the habit. You’ve convinced me to try it again. I love how you told your students they would have something to think about if encarcerated. But its true, and there are many kinds of times we feel the need for our own internal storehouse.
I love that, “our own internal storehouse.” That’s how I’ll be thinking of it.
Proof once again of the power of poetry, how it reaches us, how it moves us in a way prose can’t. Thanks for sharing this beautiful powerful poem.
It’s from her latest collection, and as much of her poetry does, it speaks to me. I had the thrill of actually hearing her more than a decade ago. I’m glad it speaks to you, too. Life!
As you await your own soon to be born miracle, this poem is especially poignant and revisiting it in the glow of a new life brings the poem to a higher level, Thank you for sharing. I have read this poem, long ago, and it is a wonderful way to embrace the miracle of life.