Ruth Thompson Poetry

What there is to worship

Byrtrt November 26, 2015September 23, 2020

For all of you, with my deepest gratitude, on this Thanksgiving day.

Flotsam

The storm drives all ashore—thrown stick with dogteeth,
twig of twisted pine,

thumbnail jellyfish with dark sails fallen, fouled ballast, soapy
olivine foam.

Everyone here has the same story.

We are blown here out of sight of ourselves, staggering and dismayed.

Yet we are perfect —
without ladder or pyramid, pinnacle or pietà

perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect—
as one would say this, this, this, this—

seeing, in this dire wind, what there is to worship.

From Crazing, 2015.

Ruth Thompson Poetry

Reading at Hilo Public Library

Byrtrt June 24, 2015September 23, 2020

Here’s the video of a reading I gave on June 13th, 2015 at the Hilo Public Library, after teaching a writing class to a great group of writers. We were joined by more people from the community for the reading. Don Mitchell made and edited the video. It runs 20 minutes. The energy this day…

Poems - Ruth Thompson | Ruth Thompson Poetry

The Inventor Of The LuVailean Sonnet

Byrtrt January 5, 2014September 23, 2020

The Inventor of the LuVailean Sonnet She was no Millay, my Great-Aunt Lucy, but she named herself Lyra LuVaile, Poet Laureate of Long Beach, California, and wrote a book in which she speaks familiarly of Stars, the Cosmos, the Music of the Spheres – subjects I might write about, myself, though not perhaps so familiarly….

Poems - Ruth Thompson | Ruth Thompson Poetry

Fat Time

Byrtrt July 27, 2014September 23, 2020

Fat Time Under purest ultramarine the raisedgoblets of trees overrun with gold.We should be reeling drunk and portly as groundhogsthrough these windfalls of russet, citron, bronze, chartreuse. Everywhere color pools like butter, like oil of ripe nuts,like piles of oranges under a striped tent. Oh, let us be greedy of eyeball,pigs scuffling in this gorgeous…

Ruth Thompson - Writing Classes | Ruth Thompson Poetry | Ruth Thompson Writing Workshops | Writing Classes - Hilo

Beginning Writing Class (Hilo)

Byrtrt March 9, 2015September 23, 2020

BEGINNING WRITING WITH RUTH THOMPSONSPRING 2015 This class is for people who are interested in starting to write, and also for people who already write but would like to refocus their practice. Each meeting will focus on a different aspect of writing practice. We’ll talk about “morning pages” and keeping a notebook, experiment with writing…

Ruth Thompson Poetry

Flotsam

Byrtrt November 24, 2017September 23, 2020

Reading so many beautiful poems of gratitude and thanks-giving this week, I wanted to share this, from my last book, Crazing: Flotsam The storm drives all ashore—thrown stick with dogteeth, twig of twisted pine, thumbnail jellyfish with dark sails fallen, torn kelp, fouled ballast, soapy olivine foam. Everyone here has the same story. We are…

Ruth Thompson Poetry

Winter Solstice, 2015

Byrtrt December 21, 2015September 23, 2020

Again, our winter solstice ritual: up at 4 am to drive out to Hilina Pali in the dark pre-dawn. Here in Hawai’i, there is hardly a twilight: it is dark and then one blinks and the sun has risen. The island permits only amber street lights, so as not to interfere with the deep space…

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