Life and death dissolve into each other in the waterfall. Without this reunion, life would be a run-on sentence, dangling without meaning. Death shapes the contours of our being. Now forever.
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Ground us, Mother Earth. Root, hearts. Bloom, love.
Read MoreComposing their very own three-lined poems stands out as one of the all-time favorite activities for philosophers of all ages and interests. Everybody has poetry within! Grab a pad and pencil. Go outside if you can, look out a window perhaps, or dig into memory’s treasure box. Take a deep breath, exhale, you know…. Rhyming words at line’s end—who cares?! Getting it right—who knows?! How? Your 3 lines present a snapshot, capturing a moment in time.
Read MoreHersch finds much to admire in Whitman’s work and spirit, and he composes a score to match Whitman’s “Song of the Universal” as well as excerpts from “Song of Myself.” What a thrill, imagining the union of “myself” and the “universal,” a union deeply felt by Whitman and intimately scored by Hersch. These two lives—brave, compassionate, daring, inclusive, resilient—and and their art speak to the promise of this country. Their “collaboration” soars and inspires.
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When Lucille Clifton asks, “won’t you celebrate with me,” we answer yes. What does this Black woman decide when she finds no model for how to create her life? “what did i see but to be myself?” she responds. The poet fastens her hands and makes her life of “starshine and clay.” What does a boy from the staunchly-segregated south long to do before he dies? Jimmy Carter casts his ballot for Kamala Harris. Won’t you celebrate the 39th president with me?