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The Green Earth: Poems of Creation
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 26, 2021
this book was gorgeous. i sat outside during my little @getawayhouse trip and read every one of these poems out loud to myself (and the birds 🙃) and it was... incredible.
poetry touches a place deep within me, and calls me to a true and rich place of beauty, and sparks such wonder on me. this was the perfect collection to read while surrounded by nature!
poetry touches a place deep within me, and calls me to a true and rich place of beauty, and sparks such wonder on me. this was the perfect collection to read while surrounded by nature!
March 16, 2018
At first I did not like these poems at all. They felt like cheap imitations of Mary Oliver. For some reason when I reached the second section I began to like it much better. I’m not sure if the poetry improved or my mood became more amenable to it.
These poems focus on green, growing things and occasionally have religious references. Overall I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more Luci Shaw.
These poems focus on green, growing things and occasionally have religious references. Overall I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more Luci Shaw.
September 14, 2021
"Every day gives us new chances for small discoveries... to detect the extraordinary in the ordinary."
"In such small works of art [reflective poems] the poet is lending you, the reader, her eyes in hopes that your own eyes will be captivated by things you've never noticed before."
Mission accomplished, Luci Shaw. This book of "poems of creation" invites the reader to mavel at brooks, gardens, houses, and many individual plants and leaves. In the introduction, Shaw notes that while we often think of God interms of vast majesty, the mystery of the Incarnation--God with us, as a human, in Jesus Christ--is reflected in the beauty of the most miniscule details of creation.
This was a lovely book of poems, and I thoroughly enjoyed taking a few moments to read it each afternoon, sitting on my sun porch in the heat and breeze. May I continue to marvel at the beauty of creation with awareness and attentiveness (Shaw's words/idea).
"In such small works of art [reflective poems] the poet is lending you, the reader, her eyes in hopes that your own eyes will be captivated by things you've never noticed before."
Mission accomplished, Luci Shaw. This book of "poems of creation" invites the reader to mavel at brooks, gardens, houses, and many individual plants and leaves. In the introduction, Shaw notes that while we often think of God interms of vast majesty, the mystery of the Incarnation--God with us, as a human, in Jesus Christ--is reflected in the beauty of the most miniscule details of creation.
This was a lovely book of poems, and I thoroughly enjoyed taking a few moments to read it each afternoon, sitting on my sun porch in the heat and breeze. May I continue to marvel at the beauty of creation with awareness and attentiveness (Shaw's words/idea).
April 22, 2012
Love Lucy Shaw's poetry because her imagery is fresh and her poems are well crafted. This collection focuses, as a number of her poems do, on creation--growing and dying and God's glory revealed.
March 1, 2025
As part of my year of poetry (2025) I found this small edition of Luci Shaw's poetry centered around nature in a compilation of poems that she calls "Poems of Creation" in which she ties together the creator God with his creation.
Many of the poems were short, but the form varied. There are haiku's, rhyming poetry and plenty of free verse. Shaw absolutely know how to squeeze meaning out of each word. I also loved how she started a poem off talking about nature, then ended in a different direction. In "Harvesting" she starts out talking about an early frost and how she was so glad that she picked the last of the green tomatoes and laid them out in the basement; otherwise they would have all died on the vine. She ends the poem:
Let me leave fruit
(but not in someone's basement)
When I grow browned
and old and pulled up by the root
and laid down flat
and plowed into the ground.
WOW! Or these four lines that follow a description of trees that are sheared at the top to make room for power lines:
Like the vividness we feel about
Someone just dead,
the gap
shivers with presence
The gap that death leaves is humming with life when he uses words like vivid, shivers, presence.
As I'm discovering this year as I read poetry every day, the lyrical use of certain words, and structuring them a specific way is where the real power lies. Luci Shaw is absolutely a master at her craft. I loved her imagery and the way she doesn't shy away from uncomfortable and worrisome subjects.
Many of the poems were short, but the form varied. There are haiku's, rhyming poetry and plenty of free verse. Shaw absolutely know how to squeeze meaning out of each word. I also loved how she started a poem off talking about nature, then ended in a different direction. In "Harvesting" she starts out talking about an early frost and how she was so glad that she picked the last of the green tomatoes and laid them out in the basement; otherwise they would have all died on the vine. She ends the poem:
Let me leave fruit
(but not in someone's basement)
When I grow browned
and old and pulled up by the root
and laid down flat
and plowed into the ground.
WOW! Or these four lines that follow a description of trees that are sheared at the top to make room for power lines:
Like the vividness we feel about
Someone just dead,
the gap
shivers with presence
The gap that death leaves is humming with life when he uses words like vivid, shivers, presence.
As I'm discovering this year as I read poetry every day, the lyrical use of certain words, and structuring them a specific way is where the real power lies. Luci Shaw is absolutely a master at her craft. I loved her imagery and the way she doesn't shy away from uncomfortable and worrisome subjects.
June 24, 2024
I enjoyed this compilation of poetry. Nearly always I am rewarded by reading Forwards/Afterwards/ Introductions, and so forth. This book was no exception. The Introduction: "The Need to Pay Attention" was lovely.
"If your heart is straight with God, then every creature will be to you a mirror of life and a book of holy doctrine. " Thomas a Kempis, Imitatio Christi
My favorite poems were:
A Song for Simplicity
Soft
Weather Forecast: Prolonged Dry Period (I'll read to GL)
*I read this as a prologue to Reversing Entropy.
"If your heart is straight with God, then every creature will be to you a mirror of life and a book of holy doctrine. " Thomas a Kempis, Imitatio Christi
My favorite poems were:
A Song for Simplicity
Soft
Weather Forecast: Prolonged Dry Period (I'll read to GL)
*I read this as a prologue to Reversing Entropy.
October 12, 2021
This was a book of poetry I have owned for years but haven’t ever read cover to cover. I like Luci Shaw as a poet. Her works seem similar to Mary Oliver to me. I’m now going to start another Malcolm Guite book of poetry called “After Prayer.”
March 31, 2018
oh i love her. a friend recommended her a long time ago and i've just now started appreciating her beauty.
October 5, 2025
Not my cup of tea.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews