“Spend all you have for loveliness”

For Poetry Friday this week, two poems:
one from Sara, one from me.

Barter
by Sara Teasdale

Life has loveliness to sell,
All beautiful and splendid things,
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
Soaring fire that sways and sings,
And children’s faces looking up,
Holding wonder like a cup.

Life has loveliness to sell,
Music like the curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirit’s still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.

Spend all you have for loveliness,
Buy it and never count the cost;
For one white singing hour of peace
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Give all you have been, or could be.

String of Beads
by Melissa Wiley

Well, I’ll tell you
it’s a long time
since I’ve strung words
on these taut threads

My mouth got busy
and my fingers with tales
and showing how the bunny
goes around the tree
and through the tunnel

Busy playing cat’s cradle,
learning the shapes,
fingers together then drawing apart
like the sign for story
I learned from my deaf son

Bring the strands close,
slip a finger, loop another.
Catch the top rung of Jacob’s ladder
in your mouth for just a moment.
The angular teacup rests on its saucer.
Broom, candles, manger, diamonds.
Anything may happen.

How mutable the forms,
how fluid, more forgiving
than the faceted words winking
thisway thatway as you squint
at the sharp wet end of a line.

If you forget to tie a knot in the string
the words slide off the end and skitter
to all corners

Anyway, which is it?
Yarn shapes or beads on a string?
Sooner or later

you have to make up
your mind.

This week’s Poetry Friday roundup can be found at Teaching Authors.