Poetry

The Poetry Friday Roundup Is Here! “Let’s Remake the World With Words

Catherine Flynn34 Comments

“It is not joy that makes us grateful;
it is gratitude that makes us joyful.”
~ David Steindl-Rast ~

Welcome to the Poetry Friday Roundup! I’m happy you stopped by! If you want to know more about what the Roundup is all about, read Renée LaTullipe‘s description here.

I’ve been thinking a lot about gratitude recently. The world is worrisome place at the moment and I long for saner heads to prevail. And yet, there is much to be grateful for. For instance, this welcoming community. My writing has improved a thousand-fold because of all of you. I’m especially thankful for my extraordinary critique group partners Heidi Mordhorst, Linda Mitchell, Margaret Simon, and Molly Hogan. They nudge and nourish my work with smart, insightful suggestions. We have all grown because of, in the words of Maria Papova, “this enormously vitalizing virtuous cycle of mutual respect and admiration that is available to all who choose to welcome and celebrate one another’s kinship of spirit.”

It is with this spirit of kinship in mind that I share “Let’s Remake the World With Words” by Gregory Orr.

Let’s remake the world with words.
Not frivolously, nor
To hide from what we fear,
But with a purpose.

Let’s,
As Wordsworth said, remove
“The dust of custom” so things
Shine again, each object arrayed
In its robe of original light.

Read the rest of the poem here.

As I was reading about gratitude this week, I found the wisdom of David Steindl-Rast particularly helpful. Brother David acknowledges that “we cannot be grateful for violence, for war, for oppression, for exploitation.” Rather, “we can … open our hearts, our hearts for the opportunities, for the opportunities also to help others, to make others happy, because nothing makes us more happy than when all of us are happy.” 

In case you need one more dose of thankfulness, don’t miss Miranda Paul’s new anthology, Thanku: Poems of Gratitude (Millbrook, 2019), which includes poems by many Poetry Friday regulars. Leave your link or comment below before Wednesday, October 16th to be entered in a drawing for a copy of this lovely book.

Now on to the Roundup!

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34 thoughts on “The Poetry Friday Roundup Is Here! “Let’s Remake the World With Words”

  1. Likewise, Catherine. I’m so grateful for what I learn from you. You make writing fun and challenging and better! Thanks for the link! I’m partial to the Trappists. Someone near and dear to me was in the order. This week I have an Appalachian Haibun & haiku to share.

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  4. Hi, Jone. What a beautiful poem to share during these dark days. Because of our (planned and hoped for) move, I’ve been thinking about gratitude and darkness. We are thankful for our new home, but big transitions are unsettling. Thank you so much for hosting today.

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  5. What good medicine your post is, Catherine – thank you for sharing all. The last few moments of that video were quite profound! And the advice that “we need to build stop signs into our lives.” I’m always GRATEFUL when I stop over here… thank you for hosting this week! XO

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  7. Thank you for sharing this post. I’ve been thinking a lot about gratitude lately–and kindness, too. And Brother David is such a wonderful source of inspiration. I love Miranda Paul’s books, too and look forward to reading this one.
    And thanks for hosting, too!

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  13. Thanks for all the goodness in this post. Practicing gratitude is so important, probably more important than ever with the current state of the world. I especially love Orr’s poem (new to me). I’m always grateful for the PF community, where words from the heart are paramount and definitely making a difference. 🙂 Thanks for hosting this week!

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  18. Thank you for the warmest post, Catherine, for hosting. I love reading the poem about gathering words, “so things/shine again”. It’s lovely! I shared the Thanku book this week, a beautiful one to open often, know that to remember to be grateful for many things is a good, good thing. I am always grateful for everyone here on Poetry Friday.

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  21. What a beautiful, gratitude-filled post! I especially love Gregory Orr’s poem and the idea of rewriting the world with words–“so things/Shine again.” Thank you so much for hosting this week and for being a part of my writing life.

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  24. Thank you for this post today–it is a reminder I needed to hear this week. Yes, let’s do remake the world with our words–words of gratitude and hope.

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  25. Thanks for hosting this week, Catherine. I read your comforting post after a long, worrisome evening of watching the news. Feeling some gratitude for the lift up you provided before bedtime, believe me.

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  26. Catherine, “Let’s Remake the World with Words” is a beautiful thought in conjunction with the teachings from Father David. I’m grateful for this community of inspired writers and the poetry goodness that you are providing today.

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  28. Catherine, I’m grateful for many things–especially my two beautiful, healthy granddaughters who live next door to me. They bring me great joy! Yet, I fear for their future when I think of what is going on in the world–and in our country.

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  32. Gratitude to you too, Catherine, for work as a criti*ue partner and your being in the world. I had an interesting ride with a Lyft driver last night who said, “I’ve been black all my life and this country doesn’t look so bad to me right now. It looks bad to all the people who thought everything was fine.” We agreed that there is no change to the reigning order without some birth pangs, and those of us who were lucky enough to afford complacency are feeling them harder. I was very thankful for this perspective, which helped to remove some dust and showed
    “each object arrayed
    In its robe of original light.”

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