Poetry
Good writers of prose must be part poet, always listening to what they write.
William Zinsser
On Writing Well
Plants abound in poetry--for good reason: Their shapes, textures, colors and smells beckon metaphor and memory. Poetry, in return, offers a path into the gardens, the woods, a close-up lens into scraggly tufts of rooftop lichens, or a zoomed-out visualization of ecological connectivity. We need words to weave and recognize plants in the fabric of our hearts.
This collection represents personal favorites -- a tiny excerpt from a vast body of vivid plant poetry. I plan to keep on reading and re-reading, adding to the list over time. If there's something you think should be here, send it along.
Sayuri Ayers In Praise of Honeysuckle
Bridget Bell On Beginning to Heal
Sheila Black Amaryllidaceae
Ross Gay The Garden We Share
Poetry Off The Shelf podcast from October 22, 2019 on gardens, time, and love.
Nancy Miller Gomez Growing Apples
Gerard Manley Hopkins Inversnaid
Susan L. Leary. Poem for Every Girl, or, A Brief History of Sunflowers
Ursula LeGuin: Finding my Elegy
LeGuin is best known for her psychologically sophisticated and elegiacally told science fiction, in which she uses plants effectively to paint scenes and worlds. Some of her short stories seriously experiment with plant empathy. Try Kinship, published in Orion Magazine, for a sample of her plant poetry.
Amy Miller My Neighbor's Bamboo
Aimee Nezhukumatathil When You are Near, I turn into a Baja Fairyduster
Mary Oliver New and Selected Poems, Why I Wake Early
Oliver's poems brim with plants. Those plants tell of people, but always remain themselves.
Or: Trout Lilies
Kathryn Petrucelli Coast Redwood
Adrienne Rich The Dream of a Common Language
Pattiann Rogers Holy Heathen Rhapsody
Ciona Rouse Care
Heidi Seaborn Dendrochronology
Shel Silverstein Where the Sidewalk Ends
Hannah Stephenson Very Good Child
Want more? Try the "Poetry in Bloom" collection, available for free on the SWWIM website. While you're there, think about signing up for the SWWIM email list and get an exquisite, astounding poem delivered to your mailbox every morning.