Joseph Stroud, “Praise Poems” from Of This World: New and Selected Poems © 2009 by Joseph Stroud. Used by permission of Copper Canyon Press, www.coppercanyonpress.org.

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Praise Poems

                                                        for John Logan
                                                        after Margot Astrov´s The Winged Serpent

 

TO THE DAY

          For it begins our journey–
          It is the mountain
          Over our homes

 

TO FIRE

          For it is the voice of God–
          It is the bright color
          Of all our children

 

TO WATER

          For it is the way of the spirit–
          It fills the footprints
          Where the body has vanished

 

TO THE HORSE

          For it leads us from this life–
          It runs in darkness–
          It bears us across the waters

 

TO THE BEAR

          For it is figured in the stars–
          It follows the bee´s
          Trail of pollen

 

TO THE FATHER

          For he leads the way–
          He is the hand of shelter
          He bears our grief

 

TO THE MOTHER

          For she gives us to the world–
          She is the happiness
          We find in ourselves

 

TO SALT

          For it comes from weeping–
          It is the Saint’s pearl–
          Our touch of stars

 

TO MORNING

          For it is the open door–
          It is the welcome
          Of all our friends

 

TO THE STARS

          For they are seeds of light–
          They are the small, pure songs
          That rain upon us