Before I went into labor, I thought this was going to be about reading Susan Howe’s My Emily Dickinson and flipping through a book on Dickinson’s garden. In her book, Howe does a close reading of one poem ([“My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun”]) for most of the book. In college, I had a professor ask us to memorize poems by heart. I wonder now about this saying. The copyeditor in me wants to query “By heart? Consider changing to ‘Memorize poems’ for brevity.”
But isn’t that “by heart” central to what a poem can do for us if we have it ingrained?
For Howe, Dickinson’s poem (which I’d assume she has in her heart) is a faceted gemstone with which she can reflect, refract, and color American history and literature, which are dear to her.
Here are some poems I’ve learned by heart:
“[Wild nights – Wild nights]” Emily Dickinson
“Cowboy Up” Charles Wright
“Miss Blues’ Child” Langston Hughes
“God’s Grandeur” Gerard Manley Hopkins
“The Trees” Philip Larkin
“How It Is” Maxine Kumin
They have been dear to me, some before I really took their meaning.
Going into labor, I wanted something that would calm me and give me strength, so I chose to repeat in my head when necessary the 23rd Psalm, changing the tenses as I saw fit. This poem is one I’ve had rattling around in my head since childhood, and it was easy enough to dust off before heading to the hospital, and language was much more desirable to focus on than pain or back labor or “I’m going to leave with a new person I am responsible for for at least 18 years if I’m lucky.” Instead, enter this Psalm balm: “Surely goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life.” A pretty way of telling myself, “It will be okay; it already is okay.” This ancient poem helped me through most of my labor, including the 7-ish hours I couldn’t sit or lie down. (Birth is metal AF, y’all.)
The poems in my heart help me through.
But these in-heart poems have a practical side, too. Since Kiddo’s been born, audio books have been easier to get through than physical ones. I can move around and not need my hands to turn pages, and if I’m honest, I can space out a little, too. And so, rather than filling my fall with books of poetry, I’d like to work on committing a few more poems to heart. Anyone with me?
Which poems do you know by heart already?
Would love to have a few of you to memorize poems with. Let me know if that’s of interest. (As fall comes on, I’m feeling Frost-y and it would be great to know what poems you all are committing to as the days go by and get shorter.)
Let me know in the comments below, or email me at Lindsey@LDAlexander.com.
