How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope

Are you happy to be alive? James Crews, the editor of this poetry anthology, asks the reader. He acknowledges the difficult times and notes that each of the one hundred poems included in this collection asks the same question of the reader. These are very short poems written by both familiar and unfamiliar poets (at least to me). Periodically, throughout the book, the editor takes a “Reflective Pause” where he very briefly discusses a single poem, and offers some questions as an invitation for “writing and reflection.”

I found this book while browsing the bookstore this past winter (and wondering why the store didn’t have the book face-out — the old bookseller in me can’t help having such thoughts ) and I was immediately show more attracted to the short poems. Quite different from the often angst-ridden volumes we know and love (which my husband refers to as “little pellets of angst”). And while I didn’t connect with all of them, I very much enjoyed many of these mostly one-page, life-affirming poems, and was particularly drawn to those which spoke of nature. I was not much interested in the “Reflective Pause” pages, but other readers may enjoy them. In fact, I enjoyed this little anthology so much that I bought four more copies and sent them to friends I thought would like them. That, in itself, is a recommendation. show less

An anthology of contemplative and mindful contemporary US (mostly) poems. They were collected and published during the Covid pandemic, though it’s not explicitly mentioned. It’s intended to inspire gratitude and hope, especially through connection with the natural world and loved ones. It aims to encourage readers to live in the moment, and find a path, without fear of not knowing the destination. Nevertheless, not all the poems are upbeat. Subjects include estrangement, dementia, end of life, and fears for one’s children, including a non-verbal autistic boy, and another who is wearing a hoodie and is “the darkest child on our street”.

It has a beautiful cover, is printed on thick paper, with softly tufted edges, has show more biographies of each poet, includes many women and POC, and is deliciously fragrant, nearly a year after it was given to me. But it took me half a year to get through it, with decreasing enjoyment.

It’s not the fault of the individual poets or poems, some of which are lovely. But framing each section with little essays like “The Necessity of Joy”, and interspersing poems with “reflective pauses” on themes like gratitude lists and “pieces of heaven” is not my thing. Even though I largely skipped and skimmed those bits, something of their mood and message seeped into the poems and gradually tainted my enjoyment.

Image: The cover by Alethea Morrison, but rotated and without the words.

Amanda Gorman

This book was a thoughtful gift, just after Amanda Gorman’s extraordinary performance of The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country at Biden’s inauguration, because an earlier poem of hers is included. I’d like to think that even if I’d never heard of Gorman, hers would be the standout poem in this collection: At the Age of 18 – Ode to Girls of Color. She explains her evolving understanding of colour from age five though twelve to eighteen: literal, symbolic, and personal, though puzzlement and hurt, to emerge triumphant.

At the age of 18
I am experiencing how black and brown can glow.
And glow I will, glow we will, vibrantly, colorfully;
not as a warning, but as promise,
that we will set the sky alight with our magic.

Read the whole poem, HERE.

Woodland escape

Since the first Covid lockdown in March 2020 (it’s now November 2021), I’ve become far more appreciative of the gently rolling hills and woods on my doorstep. I prefer the quieter paths, and mostly go alone. I’ve discovered that late autumn is my favourite season and that I prefer sunny skies dappled with light cloud. Taking photographs makes me observe more carefully in the moment, and solidifies my memories for the future.

Image: Looking up at the crowns of beech trees on a bright autumn day, November 2021

Thus, Margaret Hasse’s poem, “With Trees”, is the one I empathised with the most. Here’s a bit of it:

Something I’ve forgotten calls me away
from the picnic table to tall trees…
Now like a child, I sit down, lie back,
look up at the crowns of maple,
Needled spruce and a big-hearted boxwood.
Fugitive birds dart in and out…
Clouds range in the blue sky
above earth’s great geniuses
of shelter and shade.

Selected excerpts

“I walk up the darkening path,
my mind knitting something warm
out of the evening’s words.”
- From Astral Chorus by Laura Grace Weldon

“Dusk stains the sleet, minutes
Slush by.”
- From “Bus Stop” by Laure-Anne Bosselaar

“Simply to breathe
next to a stream that slips into the gutter
near your house
would be enough…
Now the late sun rims a cloud.
You, who watch that cloud:
Inhale. Exhale.”
- From “There Doesn’t Need to be a Poem” by Tess Taylor

“How does it creep into arteries…
revise and revise
until the story changes shape
and you, no longer the jailor,
have learned to love
what is left.”
- From “Forgiveness” by Mary McCue

“Language is no more than the impressions
left by birds nesting in the snow.”
- From “Language, Prayer, and Grace” by Mark Nepo

“There is a fish
that stitches
the inner water
and the outer water together.
Bastes them
with its gold body’s glowing.”
- From “The Fish” by Jane Hirshfield

“the newborn babies cry, bewildered,
between worlds, like new arrivals anywhere,
unacquainted with the names of things.”
- From “The Newborns” by Kathryn Hunt

“The adults we call our children will not be arriving
with their children in tow for Thanksgiving.
We must make our feast together.”
- From “Thanksgiving for Two” by Marjorie Saiser

Image: Bright winter day, in one wood, looking across to the sunkissed larches (deciduous conifers) in another wood. December 2020

Leaves again

Autumn is beginning here, so “the lesson of the leaves” by Lucille Clifton was timely. Here's the whole poem:

the leaves believe
such letting go is love
such love is faith
such faith is grace
such grace is god
i agree with the leaves

Image: Autumn leaves on a hedge, November 2021 show less

Nice little presentation package - it would make a good gift for most people, as they could carry it in their briefcase or backpack so easily, and surely find at least a few poems that mean something to them. Reading it as I am, one or two at a time throughout just a few days so I can get it back to the library, well, ok. It would be much better if I could read them out loud (not just sotto voce) and take my time with each.

So far my bookdarts:

*Laughter* by [a:Dale Biron|7882503|Dale Biron|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] - are the wrinkles in the elder's face laugh or stress lines?

*Improvement* by [a:Danusha Laméris|7789272|Danusha show more Laméris|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1396582274p2/7789272.jpg]:
"... The mind, watching its parade
of thoughts, enter and leave,
begins to see them for what they are:
jugglers, fire swallowers, acrobats,
tossing their batons into the air."

*Any Morning* by [a:William Stafford|40274|William Stafford|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1267404880p2/40274.jpg]
"... trouble is busy elsewhere at the moment, it has
so much to do in the world."

... but now there are poems about losing one's mother to dementia, and I'm not sure how they belong here.
---
Ok done.
Unfortunately not much is going to stick with me. I do recommend it; I hope it's at your library so you can see for yourself if it's something that you or a friend would like.

My last bookdarts:

*A Dervish of Leaves* by [a:Ted Kooser|139984|Ted Kooser|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1273603524p2/139984.jpg] describes the image of dead leaves that have drifted into the bed of his pickup, that get up and dance when he drives... so true, and so beautifully written.

*In Love with the World* by [a:Mark Nepo|5136|Mark Nepo|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1435748822p2/5136.jpg]:
"Like a worm cut in two, the heart only grows another heart." show less

A lovely selection of modern poems about hope, gratitude and living in the moment. I enjoyed the discussion questions at the end and wish there were questions for each of the poems.

Name: How to love the world
Author: James Crews
Genre: Poetry, Anthology
Rating: 4/5
Review:
An anthology of poetries about hope, gratitude and forgiveness from well known poets. Each poetry is different from the other, unique in their own ways, in thoughts, in ideas, but they resonate to each other, like the different colour of light, so different, yet the same.This book gives the feeling of being whole, being complete. I found most of the poetries delightful and pleasing, some were heartbreaking like the poem "At the age of 18" by Amanda Gorman and "Forgiveness" by Marie McCue. I found the poem " In Gratitude" by Abigail Carroll.
It is perfect for all type of readers. This book contains all kinds of sentiments, pain, loss, hope, gratitude, show more forgiveness, and happiness. How To Love The World is definitely an amazing book and I would recommend it to all the readers. show less

DNF 33%
This wasn't what I thought it would be and I just couldn't get into the collection.