"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.