katrinky's review against another edition
5.0
might as well mark this as read, even though I'll never be finished with it. I love this book and these poems so, so deeply. full of earth, and spirit, and devotion.
"attention is love, what we must give
children, mothers, fathers, pets,
our friends, the news, the woes of others.
what we want to change we choose and then
pick up a tool. bless whatever you can
with eyes and hands and tongue. if you
can't bless it, get ready to make it new"
-- from 'the art of blessing the day'
"The New Year is a great door
that stands across the evening and Yom
Kippur is the second door. between them
are song and silence, stone and clay pot
to be filled from within myself.
I will find there both ripeness and rot,
what I have done and undone,
what I must let go with the waning days
and what I must take in. with the last
of the tomatoes, we harvest the fruit of our lives."
-- from 'coming up on September'
"attention is love, what we must give
children, mothers, fathers, pets,
our friends, the news, the woes of others.
what we want to change we choose and then
pick up a tool. bless whatever you can
with eyes and hands and tongue. if you
can't bless it, get ready to make it new"
-- from 'the art of blessing the day'
"The New Year is a great door
that stands across the evening and Yom
Kippur is the second door. between them
are song and silence, stone and clay pot
to be filled from within myself.
I will find there both ripeness and rot,
what I have done and undone,
what I must let go with the waning days
and what I must take in. with the last
of the tomatoes, we harvest the fruit of our lives."
-- from 'coming up on September'
cgcpoems's review against another edition
4.0
a very well-written, Marge Piercy-esq collection. you don’t have to be religious in order to enjoy the language & the imagery & relate with the themes expressed in these poems. my only critique is that the collection felt a bit long — once I reached page 130 or so I just wanted to be done with it. but either way, wonderful writing from a wonderful poet!
inamerata's review
5.0
This collection is about Jewish life and experiences, blending the author's own with those of Jewish women in general. Piercy sorts her poems into categories of family, marriage, tikkun olam, history, prayer, and time, and they are all insightful and unapologetic for their existence. She writes with a great deal of compassion for herself, others, and the world, and she shows ways to appreciate each day through the littlest and most important things. It's very much a Jewish book, but I think a lot of it would be enjoyable no matter your beliefs.
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