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.

Try Roses, Late Summer

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.