The Mnemosyne Weekly: Poem Three (Rilke)

Thanks to all of you who are participating in The Mnemosyne Weekly! If you're new to the blog, you might want to look at the first Mnemosyne post to find out what this project is all about. 

Our poem this week is by Rainer Maria Rilke (translated by Stephen Mitchell). This is my favorite translation of one of my all time favorite poems. It's a little bit longer than the other ones we've memorized, but I'm sure you'll agree that it's worth the effort. As well, I'd like to mention that Rilke was a wonderful prose writer. If you haven't yet read his Letters to a Young Poet, I highly recommend picking up a hardcover edition so that when you finish reading it you can keep it on your shelf forever!

I love hearing your thoughts about the poems and what your experience was of memorizing them, so please continue to leave comments at the posts. Leave comments for last week's poem by Emily Dickinson at The Mnemosyne Weekly: Poem Two.

Here is your poem for the week. Enjoy!

I.3 (from The Sonnets To Orpheus)

A god can do it. But will you tell me how
a man can penetrate through the lyre’s strings?
Our mind is split. And at the shadowed crossing
of heart-roads there is no temple for Apollo.

Song, as you have taught it, is not desire,
not wooing any grace that can be achieved;
song is reality. Simple, for a god.
But when can we be real? When does he pour

the earth, the stars, into us? Young man,
it is not your loving, even if your mouth
was forced wide open by your own voice – learn

to forget that passionate music. It will end.
True singing is a different breath, about
nothing. A gust inside the god. A wind.

— Rainer Maria Rilke (1923), trans. Stephen Mitchell (1989)

The Mnemosyne Weekly: Poem Two (Dickinson)

Thanks to all of you who memorized last week's poem with me! I've noticed some wonderful comments coming in under the post. I love, in particular, what Lois P. Jones said about how if "One Heart" were a calligraphy "the birds would be a fine press of ink fading into the tips of freedom." Please continue to leave your comments about "One Heart" under The Mnemosyne Weekly: Poem One post. If you are new to the blog, you might also want to look at that first post to find out what The Mnemosyne Weekly is all about.

Our poem this week is by Emily Dickinson, and it is certain to make your brain and your toes and the tips of your ears tingle. Enjoy!

He fumbles at your spirit

He fumbles at your spirit
As players at the keys
Before they drop full music on;
He stuns you by degrees,

Prepares your brittle substance
For the ethereal blow,
By fainter hammers, further heard,
Then nearer, then so slow

Your breath has time to straighten,
Your brain to bubble cool, --
Deals one imperial thunderbolt
That scalps your naked soul.

*Note* When posting, quoting from, or otherwise using poetry online or in any format, please be sure to honor the “Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Poetry.”

The Mnemosyne Weekly: Poem One (Lee)

Painting: Mnemosyne 

by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

I’m excited! Today marks the start of The Mnemosyne Weekly (click here for pronunciation). If you’re wondering what that means, it’s simple: I’ve decided to memorize one poem a week, and I’m inviting you to jump in my chariot and come along for the ride.

The poets may invoke the muses when they write, but we are invoking the muses’ mother, Mnemosyne, who is also the goddess of memory.  

Please feel free to participate at whatever level feels comfortable to you. Memorize when you can, and when you can’t (we all have those weeks!), join us for the discussion anyway. Some things you can do to participate are:

• Memorize the poem with me
• Comment on the poem (We will keep these comments positive. The point is to celebrate poetry.)
• Suggest poems for memorization (But please do not suggest your own)
• Share links to the weekly on your own blogs and social media sites
• Share the weekly with family, students, and friends
• Share any information you know about the poem or poet

Our first poem is the very beautiful (and short) “One Heart” by Li-Young Lee. It’s from a collection called Book of My Nights, published by BOA Editions on September 1, 2001. As well, here is a link to an interview in which Li-Young Lee talks about memory: "An Interview with Li-Young Lee." Enjoy!

ONE HEART

Look at the birds. Even flying

is born

out of nothing. The first sky

is inside you, open

at either end of day. 

The work of wings

was always freedom, fastening

one heart to every falling thing.

*Note* When posting, quoting from, or otherwise using poetry online or in any format, please be sure to honor the “Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Poetry.”