Good Poems
Description
The title Good Poems comes from common literary parlance. For writers, it's enough to refer to somebody having written a good poem. Somebody else can worry about greatness. Mary Oliver's "Wild Geese" is a good poem, and so is James Wright's "A Blessing." Regular people love those poems. People read them aloud at weddings, people send them by e-mail.
Good Poems includes poems about lovers, children, failure, everyday life, death, and transcendance. It features the work of classic poets, such as Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and Robert Frost, as well as the work of contemporary greats such as Howard Nemerov, Charles Bukowski, Donald Hall, Billy Collins, Robert Bly, and Sharon Olds. It's a book of poems for anybody who loves poetry whether they know it or not.
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Introduction
1. O Lord Poem in Thanks-Thomas Lux How Many Nights-Galway Kinnel Welcome Morning-Anne Sexton Psalm 23-from The Bay Psalm Book At Least-Raymond Carver Address to the Lord-John Berryman O Karma, Dharma, pudding and pie-Philip Appleman Psalm-Reed Whittemore Psalm 121-Michael Wigglesworth When one has lived a long time alone-Galway Kinnell Home on the Range-Anonymous What I Want Is-C. G. Hanzlicek
2. A Day Summer Morning-Charles Simic Otherwise-Jane Kenyon Poem About Morning-William Meredith Living-Denise Levertov Another Spring-Kenneth Rexroth Morning Person-Vassar Miller Routine-Arthur Guiterman The Life of a Day-Tom Hennen For My Son, Noah, Ten Years Old-Robert Bly I've known a Heaven, like a Tent-Emily Dickinson Letter to N.Y.-Elizabeth Bishop Dilemna-David Budbill from Song of Myself-Walt Whitman New Yorkers-Edward Field Soaking Up Sun-Tom Hennen Late Hours-Lisel Mueller
3. Music Scrambled Eggs and Whiskey-Hayden Carruth Mehitabel's Song-Don Marquis Nightclub-Billy Collins Alley Violinist-Robert Lax Cradle Song-Jim Schley Her Door-Mary Leader The Pupil-Donald Justice Piano-D. H. Lawrence Insrument of Choice-Robert Phillips Homage: Doo-Wop-Joseph Stroud The Persistence of Song-Howard Moss Ooly Pop a Cow-David Huddle Elevator Music-Henry Taylor The Grain of Sound-Robert Morgan I Will Make You Brooches-Robert Louis Stevenson The Dance-C. K. Williams The Investment-Robert Frost The Dumka-B. H. Fairchild The Green Street Mortuary Marching Band-Lawrence Ferlinghetti
4. Scenes Poem to Be Read at 3 A.M.-Donald Justice The Swimming Pool-Thomas Lux Dostoevsky-Charles Bukowski After a Movie-Henry Taylor Summer Storm-Dana Gioia Woolworth's-Mark Irwin Worked Late on a Tuesday Night-Deborah Garrison The Farmhouse-Reed Whittemore wrist-wrestling father-Orval Lund Yorkshiremen in Pub Gardens-Gavin Ewart Noah-Roy Daniells
5. Lovers A Red, Red Rose-Robert Burns When I Heard at the Close of Day-Walt Whitman First Love-John Clare He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven-W. B. Yeats Sonnet-C. B. Trail Politics-W. B. Yeats Magellan Street, 1974-Maxine Kumin Animals-Frank O'Hara Lending Out Books-Hal Sirowitz The Changed Man-Robert Phillips The Constant North-J. F. Hendry On the Strength of All Conviction and the Stamina of Love-Jennifer Michael Hecht The Loft-Richard Jones This Is Just to Say-William Carlos Williams This Is Just to Say-Erica-Lynn Gambino Venetian Air-Thomas Moore Summer Morning-Louis Simpson Comin thro' the Rye-Robert Burns Topograhy-Sharon Olds Saturday Morning-Hugo Williams Flight-Louis Jenkins At Twenty-Three Weeks She Can No Longer See Anything South of Her Belly-Thom Ward For the Life of Him and Her-Reed Whittemore Romantics-Lisel Mueller Down in the Valley-Anonymous The Middle Years-Walter McDonald Winter Winds Cold and Blea...-John Clare since feeling is first-e. e. cummings Vergissmeinnicht-Keith Douglas Sonnet XLIII What lips my lips have kissed-Edna St. Vincent Millay After the Argument-Stephen Dunn The Orange-Wendy Cope Susquehanna-Liz Rosenberg Farm Wife-R. S. Thomas After Forty Years of Marriage, She Tries a New Recipe for Hamburger Hot Dish-Leo Dangel Those Who Love-Sara Teasdale Quietly-Kenneth Rexroth For C.W.B.-Elizabeth Bishop Shorelines-Howard Moss Prayer for a Marriage-Steve Scafidi The Master Speed-Robert Frost Bonnard's Nudes-Raymond Carver
6. Day's Work Happiness-Raymond Carver Hoeing-John Updike Some Details of Hebridean House Construction-Thomas A. Clark Relations-Philip Booth What I Learned from My Mother-Julia Kasdorf To be of use-Marge Piercy No Tool or Rope or Pail-Bob Arnold Ox Cart Man-Donald Hall Girl on a Tractor-Joyce Sutphen Soybeans-Thomas Alan Orr Landing Pattern-Philip Appleman Mae West-Edward Field Hay for the Horses-Gary Snyder
7. Sons and Daughters Masterworks of Ming-Kay Ryan Bess-Linda Pastan A Little Tooth-Thomas Lux Sonnet XXXVII-William Shakespeare Egg-C. G. Hanzlicek Rolls-Royce Dreams-Ginger Andrews My Life Before I Knew It-Lawrence Raab After Work-Richard Jones I Stop Writing the Poem-Tess Gallagher Franklin Hyde-Hilaire Belloc Manners-Elizabeth Bishop September, the First Day of School-Howard Nemerov First Lesson-Philip Booth Childhood-Barbara Ras Waving Good-Bye-Gerald Stern Family Reunion-Maxine Kumin
8. Language A Primer of the Daily Round-Howard Nemerov The Possessive Case-Lisel Mueller The Icelandic Language-Bill Holm The Fantastic Names of Jazz-Hayden Carruth Ode to the Medieval Poets-W. H. Auden Sweater Weather-Sharon Bryan
9. A Good Life We grow accustomed to the Dark-Emily Dickinson A Ritual to Read to Each Other-William Stafford Courage-Anne Sexton Sometimes-Sheenagh Pugh Leisure-W. H. Davies the way it is now-Charles Bukowski A Secret Life-Stephen Dunn Lost-David Wagoner Sonnet XXV-William Shakespeare The Eel in the Cave-Robert Bly Wild Geese-Mary Oliver From the Manifesto of the Selfish-Stephen Dunn Hope-Lisel Mueller The Three Goals-David Budbill Vermeer-Howard Nemerov Repression-C. K. Williams Weather-Linda Pastan Moderation Is Not a Negation of Intensity, But Helps Avoid Monotony-John Tagliabue Tell all the Truth but tell it slant-Emily Dickinson The Props assist the House...-Emily Dickinson
10. Beasts Little Citizen, Little Survivor-Hayden Carruth Her First Calf-Wendell Berry Bats-Randall Jarrell Riding Lesson-Henry Taylor Walking the Dog-Howard Nemerov The Excrement Poem-Maxine Kumin Stanza IV from Coming of Age-Ursula Leguin Destruction-Joanne Kyger How to See Deer-Philip Booth Dog's Death-John Updike Names of Horses-Donald Hall Bison Crossing Near Mt. Rushmore-May Swenson
11. Failure Success is counted sweetest...-Emily Dickinson Solitude-Ella Wheeler Wilcox The first time I remember-Wendell Berry Our Lady of the Snows-Robert Hass The British Museum Reading Room-Louis MacNeice The Bare Arms of Trees-John Tagliabue The Sailor-Geof Hewitt A Place for Everything-Louis Jenkins The Feast-Robert Hass Nobody Knows You-Jimmie Cox the last song-Charles Bukowski
12. Complaint The Forsaken Wife-Elizabeth Thomas Confession-Stephen Dobyns Living in the Body-Joyce Sutphen Tired As I Can Be-Bessie Jackson The Iceberg Theory-Gerald Locklin Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front-Wendell Berry A Bookmark-Tom Disch poetry readings-Charles Bukowski Publication-is the Auction...-Emily Dickinson
13. Trips Once in the 40s-William Stafford lines from Moby Dick-Herman Melville Rain Travel-W. S. Merwin where we are-Gerald Locklin Excelsior-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow On a Tree Fallen Across the Road-Robert Frost A Walk Along the Old Tracks-Robert Kinsley Passengers-Billy Collins The Walloping Window-Blind-Charles Edward Carryl The Vacation-Wendell Berry Directions-Joseph Stroud Postscript-Seamus Heaney Night Journey-Theodore Roethke Waiting-Raymond Carver
14. Snow New Hampshire-Howard Moss To fight aloud...-Emily Dickinson December Moon-May Sarton Year's End- Richard Wilbur The Snow Man-Wallace Stevens January-Baron Wormser in celebration of surviving-Chuck Miller Her Long Illness-Donal Hall Requiescat-Oscar Wilde The Sixth of January-David Budbill Not Only the Eskimos-Lisel Mueller Boy at the Window-Richard Wilbur Winter Poem -Frederick Morgan Lester Tells of Wanda and the Big Snow-Paul Zimmer Old Boards-Robert Bly March Blizzard-John Tagliabue
15. Yellow Elvis Kissed Me-T. S. Kerrigan Stepping Out of Poetry-Gerald Stern I shall keep singing!-Emily Dickinson Song to Onions-Roy Blount, Jr. O Luxury-Guy W. Longchamps Coming-Kenneth Rexroth A Light Left On-May Sarton The Yellow Slicker-Stuart Dischell First Kiss-April Lindner The Music One Looks Back On-Stephen Dobyns
16. Lives In a Prominent Bar in Secaucus One Day-X. J. Kennedy Who's Who-W. H. Auden The Portrait-Stanley Kunitz Parable of the Four-Poster-Erica Jong Ed-Louis Simpson Memory-Hayden Carruth Lazy-David Lee Testimonial-Harry Newman, Jr. Cathedral Builders-John Ormond The Village Burglar-Anonymous The Scandal-Robert Bly At Last the Secret Is Out-W. H. Auden Night Light-Kate Barnes Sir Patrick Spens-Anonymous
17. Elders I Go Back to May 1937-Sharon Olds Those Winter Sundays-Robert Hayden The Old Liberators-Robert Hedin To My Mother-Wendell Berry Working in the Rain-Robert Morgan Birthday Card to My Mother-Philip Appleman Yesterday-W. S. Merwin No Map-Stephen Dobyns My Mother-Robert Mezey When My Dead Father Called-Robert Bly August Third-May Sarton Terminus-Ralph Waldo Emerson
18. The End Authorship-James B(al) Naylor Young and Old-Charles Kingsley Shifting the Sun-Diana Der-Hovanessian My Dad's Wallet-Raymond Carver When I Am Asked-Lisel Mueller Dirge Without Music-Edna St. Vicent Millay My mother said...-Donald Hall Departures-Linda Pastan As Befits a Man-Langston Hughes Sunt Leones-Stevie Smith Perfection Wasted-John Updike Eleanor's Letters-Donald Hall Death and the Turtle-May Sarton Four Poems in One-Anne Porter Titanic-David R. Slavitt The Burial of Sir John Moore after Corunna-Charles Wolfe Kaddish-David Ignatow Twilight: After Haying-Jane Kenyon For the Anniversary of My Death-W. S. Merwin from The Old Italians Dying-Lawrence Ferlinghetti Street Ballad-George Barker Let Evening Come-Jane Kenyon
19. The Resurrection Forty-Five-Hayden Carruth A Blessing-James Wright Holy Thursday-William Blake lines from Walden-Henry David Thoreau The Peace of Wild Things-Wendell Berry From Blossoms-Li-Young Lee The First Green of Spring-David Budhill Here-Grace Paley The Lives of the Heart-Jane Hirshfield Spring-Gerard Manley Hopkins Fishing in the Keep of Silence-Linda Gregg
Biographies Name Index Title Index
