POEM OF THE DAY -- "The Planet On The Table" by Wallace Stevens

The creative world of American poet Wallace Stevens is an interesting place where spirit, intellect, the universe, abstractions and reality intersect.  This particular poem -- "The Planet On The Table" -- is often perceived as a set of instructions from the poet to his readers as he publishes his final collection of poems and places them "on the table".

Spiritually created, Stevens is indicating that his poems are a result of and a part of eternity...yet somehow, in today's perspective, they are as much a physical creation as our planet.

But our planet, as we know - is actually NOT eternal.  So is this a disappointment?  (You're supposed to be thinking here)

No.  The poems live on in the collective soul of all who have read them and been touched by them.  They are eternal, and so are we.  They are as much a part of infinity as a great song, such as "Imagine" by John Lennon.

Anyway, enjoy.  This poem is part of the wonderful Stevens collection shown at the link below and to the right.  Add it to your collection - no poetry collection is complete without the great American poet, Wallace Stevens.

Tomorrow, stay tuned for some Carl Sandburg - anti-war sentiment. 

The Planet On The Table  

by Wallace Stevens

Ariel was glad he had written his poems.
They were of a remembered time
Or of something seen that he liked.


Other makings of the sun
Were waste and welter
And the ripe shrub writhed.


His self and the sun were one
And his poems, although makings of his self,
Were no less makings of the sun.


It was not important that they survive.
What mattered was that they should bear
Some lineament or character,


Some affluence, if only half-perceived,
In the poverty of their words,
Of the planet of which they were part. 

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