Poem of the Day
Poem of the Day is a changing display featuring one poem and photo from my archives. See below.
For additional information about the poem and photograph, contact Marc
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Blades of Grass
They spring quietly into sight
an ephemeral surprise or two
I hold on to the moments
they are easily missed views
such exchanges I have
with these objects in sun burnished glow
the simple, noble beauty
of these pieces of this meadow
and what do they bestow?
like showers nourishing seeds
these free and wild blessings
are watering my spirit’s needs
from the earth, like us
they are different and the same
common as grains of sand
and lone as a flicker of flame
they grow far and wide
but their gifts shall not surpass
the grant to my soul this day
that arose from these blades of grass.
Copyright © 2002 Marc P. Anderson
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The photograph of grass silhouetted by the sun, viewed from inside my nylon tent, was a real but naturally abstract image. It was taken in July 1989 during a camping and hiking trip in Harriman State Park in upstate New York. I went inside my tent to get something and noticed how the strong sunlight was casting shadows of the grass outside against the material of the tent. I grabbed my camera and started shooting. My friend Joe noticed that I was taking longer than usual and he asked what was I doing. I explained that I was taking pictures of something cool before the light changed and the opportunity disappeared. I was trying to catch an unusual scene created by a lucky moment with a subject that was one of the most simple of all: grass. The brown color of the tent, lit magnificently into orange by the bright sun, made it a very ethereal scene.
Over the years I wanted to write something that would mate well with the photograph. Somehow I wanted to elevate one of the simplest and most common item on earth to the level of the most precious, if only we would take the time to look and recognize its contributions. The idea became the basis of the poem which was written more than 12 years later specifically for this photo.
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MarcWords
My poems arise from moods and thoughts generated by my own life and from placing myself in the lives of others.
For decades I have written poems and mated them with specific photographs in the belief that the two art forms can result in something even more fascinating when presented together. Sometimes I have taken a photo first and written a poem for it later. Other times the reverse occurred. A time span of days to years can separate the writing of a poem, the capturing of an image and their final mating.
I am not a poet. Instead I am a photographer who also writes essays and poems. My poems do not follow any rules. I write what I feel. The style of writing is usually accessible and the approach is often personal.
Many of my poems with stronger, controversial themes, which appear in a collection entitled MarcWords, have been categorized under the headings Life and Death, Race, and Love and Sexuality. They are accompanied by equally strong images including artistic nudes. In order to keep this website accessible and non-offensive to the general public, such poems and photo combinations are not included in Poem of the Day but they are available in MarcWords and other non-public web journals.