The Poet (delayed‪)‬ Scott Edgar

This Be The Verse
BY PHILIP LARKIN


They f**k you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.


But they were f****d up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another’s throats.


Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don’t have any kids yourself.




I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.


My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at


The King's English Bookshop


and


Amazon.com



Special Guest: Tyler Mathis.

I'd love to hear any thoughts about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.


WILD GEESE
by Mary Oliver


You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.




My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at


The King's English Bookshop


and


Amazon.com



Special Guest: Josh Baron.

We can't do it all alone. Sometimes, we need to reach out for help and that's not always easy. In fact, in my experience, it's rarely easy. In this episode, I discuss three obstacles that get in my way of asking for help.




The Capacity of Your Tears


How many mornings
Are filled with desperate tears
That never sound
In another's ears because
You feel they are
Hopeless
And only serve to ease
Your pain for the coming day:
So why worry others when
The tears will come again
Regardless?


But how many mornings
Before your pain exceeds
The capacity of your tears?




I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.


My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at


The King's English Bookshop


and


Amazon.com

Yes,
You will rise from the ashes,
But the burning comes first.


For this part,
Darling,
You must be brave.


by Kalen Dion


I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.


My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at


The King's English Bookshop


and


Amazon.com

TERRIBLE POTENTIAL


I see it now
For years I only sensed it
Or saw the dissipating dust tails of its approach
But it filled me with terror
And there was no cover or protection
So I ran
As fast as my child stride could take me
Not even knowing what it was –
Only that it was coming
But that made the fear so much more
In my little mind
So I ran harder
Until I forgot why I was running –
Only knowing that I couldn’t stop


But I see it now
Its shape is fluid and undefined
And its terrible potential fills my mind
I want to keep running – retreating
But it won’t stop and
It’s closing the gap and
It’s more terrible than I ever thought
But its real – I see it now
And I know
There’s no escape, there never was.
But I want to keep running anyway
Until it overtakes me
I won’t see it coming; it will just happen and be done
But my insufficient legs refuse to carry me anymore
So I prostrate myself as an offering


I know you’re coming, I whisper,
And I offer myself willingly


This is not defeat, I reassure myself
Then lower my eyes
And brace for its fury


But my mind keeps moving – defiantly
It knows truths that my body forgot
And reminds me:


You were born with claws
And they’re with you still –


And I remember and feel them
They are deep, but I feel them and they are there
So, I raise my body from the dirt and
My eyes to the distance
It is closer now – the gap disappearing
But not my fear. My fear is growing
(broadcast loudly by my beating heart)
But I no longer want to run
Nor offer myself willingly
Instead, I watch it come and I wait – in fear, true
But I wait to receive it
And I steady myself.


I have claws and I feel them
And I will meet it face to face
I have terrible potential too
I feel it now.




I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.


My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at


The King's English Bookshop


and


Amazon.com

My daughter Ruby and I were the only ones home, so I decided to record an episode of The Poet (delayed) with her. We talked about her track and field season that just finished up, softball, boys, poetry, music, flying fish and boys.




I'd love to hear what you have to say about the episode including thoughts on the poetry and the topics that were discussed. You can email me at poetdelayed@gmail.com.


My first book of poetry, My Mother Sleeps, is availabe for purchase at


The King's English Bookshop


and


Amazon.com



Special Guest: Ruby Edgar.