Happy belated birthday, LC. Thank you for everything. May the blessings and joy you bring to so many be returned to you tenfold.

Boss, I've been following this thread for several weeks now. I enjoyed the original poem and all the comments it has spawned.

L, I especially liked the High Hopes video, which I first looked at on New Year's Eve, that time for new beginnings.

TY all for your great comments.

-Abby, this is a beautiful, heartfelt poem. The last stanza is lovely and riveting. Thank you for posting it.

Just coming back to say I’m also reminded of this saying from The Course in Miracles : “Those who are to meet will meet.” In person, through books, through music, through letters, through the heart, over the internet. Lili also talked about “stumbling about in a spiritual wasteland.” Yes, I was in a...

L. thank you for the painting. Yes, some of my favorite things!

Diane, those ragged roses are gorgeous.

Judy, it seems "Wild Geese" was in the air.

Happy New Year to all of you!

Two years ago for Christmas I received several Leonard Cohen CDs and The Book of Longing from a friend. I immediately fell in love with his work. For well over a year, his music was just about the only music I listened to. I felt that Leonard was speaking to experiences I’d had over the last ten to ...

Some of my favorite Oliver lines are these from the beginning of "Wild Geese": You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Just now as I was typing this and w...

Diane, yes, Oliver is one of my favorite poets. I had the opportunity to hear her read a few years ago, but I haven't kept up with her recent work. I'd love to see a discussion of Evidence between you and Red Poppy when you have read it.

holydove, mirka, wakeupmartin, I recently joined this forum and was telling a friend about it. Although he has been a Cohen fan for 40 years, he was somewhat skeptical at what he perceived as the over enthusiasm of some Cohenites. I said, “I think for some of them Cohen is their religion.” That wasn...

Two years ago a friend sent me a bunch of Cohen CDs. I knew nothing about Leonard Cohen except that my friend thought very highly of his music and poetry. When I first heard “The Guests” followed by “Hallelujah,” I started to cry. I felt a connection between “The Guests” and the Sufis and wondered i...

Or a thorn in her side

indy wrote:We're soul barnacle

Another name for Soul mates
Or a thorn in her side

Yeah, I bet Ray didn't say "uh-huh" but "uh-oh."

Hi Diane,

I enjoyed reading this selection of Oliver's poems, many of which I was unfamiliar with.

Thanks, Martine. I think it's time for me to read some Goethe.

Hi lonndub, This thread reminded me of a poem by Galway Kinnell, one of my favorite poets. In the poem Kinnell mentions Kavanagh, who I've been meaning to look up, so I was happy to read some of his poems here. OATMEAL by Galway Kinnell I eat oatmeal for breakfast. I make it on the hot plate and put...

I once had a dream in which a voice told me: "Follow in the shoes of Hafiz." I had read some Rumi but not Hafiz, so I went looking for his poems. At the time the only thing I could find was a library book, written years before, which I couldn't make heads or tails of. I was thrilled when I came acro...