In January, 2013, Don Koc led us in a benediction that we deeply appreciate. We know that it also works well when you’re taking walks, by yourself or with others, and as a way to come together at the beginning of a party or meeting.
Here’s a link to Reverend Ed Bacon and author Kim Rosen, discussing the power of spiritual power of poetry and her book, “Saved by a Poem,” when a poem – or a sermon! helps you connect with your true self and live life in its depths. It speaks to the phenomenon we experience in Paul’s sermons when we feel something more than “the words” happening with our energy levels. What’s particularly interesting in the first few minutes is the discussion of the biochemistry changes at the “soul” level.
http://www.oprah.com/oprahradio/Kim-Rosen-and-the-Power-of-Poetry-Audio (a fast 8 min 55 sec.)
God Says Yes To Me, by Kaylan Haught
Full version, click here
Aubade in Autumn, by Peter Everwine
Full version, click here
An Eskimo Poem, from ‘Beyond the High Hills,’ collected among the Igluilik Eskimos of the Hudson Bay Region by Knud Rasmussen
Three versions, click here
Tonight It’s a Word, by Frank X. Gaspar
A fragment, click here
Sonnet 18, by William Shakespeare
Full Sonnet and more, click here
What I Have Learned So Far, by Mary Oliver
Full poem, click here
I Pray to the Birds, by Terry Tempest Williams
Full poem, click here
Gather, by Rose McLarney
Full poem, click here
I Will Not Die An Unlived Life, by Dawn Markova
Full poem, click here
Eagle Poem, by Joy Harjo
Full poem, click here
For All, by Gary Snyder
Full poem, click here
Everyone Sang, by Siegried Sassoon
Full poem, click here