February 20, 2015

Marilyn Robertson

BELIEF

On the way to the post office this morning,
I thought about the odd things we believe.

Things we swear by, pray to, put our trust in,
or wear printed on the back of a T-shirt.

Tarot cards. Crystal balls.
Runes and rattlesnakes.

First stars, second sight—
not to mention elves and Armageddon.

Just look at me, believing that someone
might have written me a letter,

that the world is in good hands,
that a man once walked out of a stone-cold tomb

into the light of day, leaving
poor old Death completely in the dark.

from Rattle #45, Fall 2014
Tribute to Poets of Faith

__________

Marilyn Robertson: “Here’s one definition of religion: concern over what exists beyond the visible. I find that belief in the ineffable, in the Divine, gives life a shimmer, an edge. A good edge. One you can walk on. And poetry, for me, is scripture—a prayer.”

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September 29, 2012

Marilyn Robertson

ON READING A POEM BY PHILLIS LEVIN

I laughed out loud this morning.
I was reading a poem called The Buzzard
and it took me through ice storms,
evacuation routes, terrible winds—
an ominous landscape.
But where is the buzzard, I wondered,
and how is he going to navigate
toward breakfast in this gale?
I got to the end where a neighbor’s shovel
scraping the walk made you reconsider
the meaning of your life,
and still no bird had shown up.
Not even a canary.
Did I miss something?
I turned back the page to read it again
and saw it was called The Blizzard.
How interesting life can be
when you mistake one thing for another.

from Rattle #23, Summer 2005

__________

Marilyn Robertson: “I wrote songs for twenty years. Then they turned into poems. Poems are easier, no guitar to tune. Poems are harder, requiring line breaks, commas, forms … but, oh, how satisfying. Those early morning hours on the couch—heaven!”

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