Autumn Reading

Surrounded by Autumn's finery, Larew joined poets Patti Ross and Naomi Ayala at a Write the Land outdoor reading in Woodstock, Maryland (USA) on Sunday, October 227, 2024. Held in conjunction with NatureCulture (NatureCulture), the event was hosted by the Howard County Nature Conservancy (Homepage - Howard County Conservancy and the Howard County Poetry and Literature Society (HoCoPoLitSo « Let there be lit.).

Thanks to all of those who joined the afternoon's fine, crisp colors in the amphitheater. And thanks to Susan Hobby of the Nature Conservancy, Tara Hart of HoCoPoLitSo and Lis McLoughlin of NatureCulture for organizing the gathering.

Here's a poem that Larew read at the event.

LIFE WITH A CANDLE

I want to marry this field

Truly and simply

With its wings curving the corners

And its smoothness stunning my knees

All of my heart is here far around me

And there’s humming and leaning -

Even the trifling breeze

I want this field for my living

To vow to its edges

That nothing comes true

Without greening

Nothing seems as bold as my longings

Except sloping

Nothing wakes on my shoulder                                                            

But rustling

I hope the strangest hopes in this field

Ever bending

From here

I know that this much of my all is clear -

Before there were hills

Or even eyes to up over

There was a distance beyond us

A long far away that can never come near

There was wishing

I want to carry this field

In my arms

By its being

To a maybe that’s certain

So our future can flicker on grasses

And our children will wave from the clouds.

Photo by Stephen Cherry.