Poetry is honey for the soul (1) - Mark Strand (and Geoff)

           Poetry is honey for the soul

I was so happy to see that my idea about "One poem a day" was being received with kindness by friends on Facebook, on this blog, and through answers to emails that I sent rashly to other friends, that I forgot some essentials when I posted the first contribution, on Sunday. I was not able to come back to my project before today, but here it is with it little logo of acacia flowers from which some honey will be made.

And from a discussion with Geoff,  here is a link he gave me about Mark Strand (who, for the French was mentioned with the Surréalistes - which I did not understand):

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/mark-strand

I see there that Strand has been compared with music and painters, among them Hopper. I would not have able to illustrate the presence/absence and wholeness that the poem evokes. So, I beg pardon to our contributor and keep Turner who is "a whole" himself. And I publish again, this time less in a daze but still with joy,

Geoff , first reader turned blogger today,

for our poetry week.

In a field

I am the absence
of field.
This is
always the case.
Wherever I am
I am what is missing.

When I walk
I part the air
and always
the air moves in
to fill the spaces
where my body’s been.

We all have reasons
for moving.
I move
to keep things whole.


 Mark Strand