Sunday, February 1, 2015

How is the River a Piece of Sky

What a lovely poem. I read this poem several times and still found something new to think about.

One thought I had was how we believe some things to be true that are not true. Yet it gives us great joy. It could be a very innocent thing like 'Santa Claus'. As you get older you learn that 'Santa Claus' is an imaginary person, but you still like the memory of 'Santa' because Santa is a good memory.

When people become parents they keep the allusion of 'Santa' alive so their children can enjoy it, too. It's pleasant to reflect on the innocence of yesterday especially when there is so much sadness in the news.

Today, take time to drop a penny in the river and watch the sky ripple.

The River Is a Piece of Sky

-John Ciardi (June 1916 - March 1986)

From the top of a bridge
The river below
Is a piece of sky -
    Until you throw
    A penny in
    Or a cockleshell
    Or a pebble or two
    Or a bicycle bell
    Or a cobblestone
    Or a fat man's cane-
And then you can see
It's a river again.
The difference you'll see
When you drop your penny:
The river has splashes,
The sky hasn't any.

John Ciardi was the son of Italian immigrants and taught at several university's in America. He left teaching in 1961 to pursue full time writing as a poet and spent some time with the, "Saturday Review" as a staff writer and critic. His love of words and language made him an admired poet in North America during the 1950's and onward. He wrote volumes of children's poetry along with a popular book entitled, "How does a poem mean." I've got to get that book.

No comments: