"One couldn’t know how long it would go on // lashing desultorily at the portholes— / how the waters would gather / til they lifted the keel clear off its supports"
This, to save the Republic, / this for the glory of the state, they, the inheritors of, / for them, a great tradition, in their murderous insistences / they, the United States, conduct a killing spree
On this episode, Irish poet and theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama testifies to the peace and spiritual freedom he found by laying down “the burden of belief.”
Contrary to what is typically asked of him, the just man does not need imagination but attention. Poetry, too, requires a kind of pure, focused attention.
On this episode, the poet reads several poems from his new book, and then joins senior editor Matthew Boudway for a conversation about overcoming despair.
Louise Glück weaves together poetry and prayer. Kathryn Davis writes of loving, reading, dreaming, and dying. The two leave us unmoored and longing for more.
A Commonweal Christmas tradition: Editors and friends of the magazine offer book recommendations that may just be the perfect gift for someone on your list.
"The voice of a desert bird / Was a cry in the wilderness, to the wilderness, / Striking the rocks and cliffs, / Which, hearing nothing, send it back to the sky."
