Reading is listening to centuries past
“Listen. Put on Morning” by W.S. Graham
I had the privilege of growing up next to a bike trail and creek, and I have more fond childhood memories of those trees and that creek than any other place. So when I moved to college I found the first trail next to a creek I could, and today as I walked across one of the bridges I noticed that people have begun putting locks on it.
I chose this poem not just because of the mention of locks. I love the way the speaker tells us to “Waken into miracle” “Put on light break” “Waken into falling light” and “Put on morning.”
A part of me thinks this is a critique of the mentality that you can just command yourself to feel a certain way and you can make it happen. But more prevalent, the piece talks about reading the words of authors from centuries past. Each one of us only gets three minutes in this life, and the poem suggests that we take advantage of the wisdom and joy written down before us.
Reading allows us to experience fictional worlds, worlds from the past, and potential futures. The opportunity for these experiences is invaluable, and available at any moment, so we should dive into them while we still have our three minutes.
Check out my Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/poetryisoutthere/
Read the full poem here:
