Philip Levine's A Simple Truth

First let me say I have a hard time finding ways to ask permission to post an entire poem, so therefore I cannot enlighten you as much as I would like to Levine’s poems. Philip Levine was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1928. He has won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and several other prizes for his work. The link below provides more detailed information about him and poems to read as well as an Audio Clip so you can listen to his poem. Levine is another poet whom I enjoy because he says what he means while making the language beautiful. You don’t have to find hidden meanings unless you want to, some poems are deep and some are just a breath of fresh air. I picked up his book The Simple Truth published in 1994 by Alfred A. Knopf. In this book, one of my favorite poems is “Ask For Nothing” in which he describes going on a walk in the evenings. This is a simple enough subject but I happen to love long walks in the countryside and no longer live where that is possible and he captures the feelings, sights, and sounds perfectly. Here is a short excerpt from “Ask For Nothing:”

Behind you the windows of the town
blink on and off, the houses close down;
ahead the voices fade like music
over deep water, and then are gone;

Please click the link below to find out more and certainly look for his work while you are out and about in your daily busy life. He will remind you to take a breath and see the wonderful things that greet you every day.

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/19

Thanks for reading, tomorrow is another poetry web-site installment…