Praise Song For The Day.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 1:20pm

Soooo...what did you think?

I have to be honest, poetry just isn't my thing. But I tried to like it. I found her delivery very reminiscent of Mrs. Weideman's (she was my fourth grade teacher) who over enunciated everything. Maybe it was the “Take out your pencils. Begin.” That did it.

Updated On: 1/20/09 at 01:20 PM

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 1:25pm

The poem itself was... there were a few phrases I liked, but for the most part, there was nothing new or fresh about it. But I agree, the worst part was her delivery. She said. Each. Word. Individually. Without. Any. Flow. To. It.

[nexttoelectric]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 1:41pm

yeah, her delivery ruined any hope i had of enjoying it.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 1:44pm

She's no Maya Angelou.

[DBillyP]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 3:22pm

Unfortunately for Elizabeth Alexander, many of us remember quite well Dr. Maya Angelou's stirring "On the Pulse of Morning." Who can compete with that?!?

[xbri0432x]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 5:21pm

maybe if she had a better flow to her words... but she was probably just nervous. i mean, that's a lot of people. and no one can compare to Maya Angelou.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 5:30pm

Remember--Maya Angelou was an actress before she became a writer and a poet.

Many poets I've seen tend to read their poetry in a monotone.

I actually liked the poem, but my favorite part was watching Michelle watch it. She really got into it!

[Scripps2]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 5:40pm

She had an extremely hard act to follow.

[antonijan]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 5:50pm

Maybe it would be better as a rap.

[wonkit]

Posted: 1/20/09 at 6:06pm

I was happy to see a poet included in the ceremony, but it did not seem to be very memorable.

[JbaraFan1]

Posted: 1/21/09 at 3:07am

Poetry must not be my thing either. To be it seemed like a bunch of random thoughts, sort of like a Twitter page. Maybe it was brilliant, and I'm just too dumb to get it.

[Yawper]

Posted: 1/21/09 at 3:55am

The poem's really quite nice - a little Sandburg, a little Whitman - the delivery wasn't the smoothest

(these are just the words - I have no idea how she laid it on the page)


Praise Song for the Day

Each day we go about our business, walking past each other,
catching each others' eyes or not, about to speak or speaking.
All about us is noise.
All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din,
each one of our ancestors on our tongues.

Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform,
patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.
Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum
with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.
A farmer considers the changing sky;
A teacher says, "Take out your pencils. Begin."

We encounter each other in words,
words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed;
words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone
and then others who said, "I need to see what's on the other side; I know there's something better down the road."
We need to find a place where we are safe;
We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain, that many have died for this day.
Sing the names of the dead who brought us here,
who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce,
built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day.
Praise song for every hand-lettered sign;
The figuring it out at kitchen tables.

Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thy self."
Others by first do no harm, or
take no more than you need.

What if the mightiest word is love,
love beyond marital, filial, national.
Love that casts a widening pool of light.
Love with no need to preempt grievance.

In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air,
anything can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp --
praise song for walking forward in that light.

[tommyboy]

Posted: 1/21/09 at 10:37am

Nope

[JbaraFan1]

Posted: 1/21/09 at 4:06pm

I can appreciate that some appreciate the poem more than others. Just not my cup of tea I guess.

'Something Positive' comic strip about the poem Updated On: 1/21/09 at 04:06 PM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/21/09 at 4:12pm

What is "today's sharp sparkle"?

[Yawper]

Posted: 1/21/09 at 4:30pm

Have you ever experienced a cold, sunny, icy winter day?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/21/09 at 4:52pm

Yes, but the imagery just didn't land for me.

[wonkit]

Posted: 1/21/09 at 7:46pm

Now that I have read the poem, the problem I have is that the poet starts out talking about words and speech, and ends up with love and light. If she had developed the power of words and used that theme throughout, she might have had a greater cumulative effect, especially reading the poem immediately after President Obama's inaugural speech.