{"id":2210,"date":"2017-02-22T11:27:31","date_gmt":"2017-02-22T16:27:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/mission-and-identity\/?p=2210"},"modified":"2019-09-18T16:47:15","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T20:47:15","slug":"feb-22-jane-kenyon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/2017\/02\/22\/feb-22-jane-kenyon\/","title":{"rendered":"Feb 22 — Jan Kenyon, “Happiness” “. . . the way it turns up like a prodigal . . . “"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wednesday, February 22 \u00a0\u201cThere\u2019s just no accounting for happiness\u201d \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019d not met Jane Kenyon until David Grubin caught my\u00a0attention with her \u201cHappiness\u201d in an email this morning. \u00a0 Kenyon gets it about understated and playful joy emerging from tough work-a-day realities. \u00a0She reminds me of Leonard Cohen\u2019s \u201cAnthem\u201d and W H Auden\u2019s \u201cSong\u201d \u00a0(Jan 25 post). \u00a0It happens that during these past days of angry news, I\u2019ve been looking for subtle poems that show readers playful delight that has paid its dues in grief but are not locked down there.<\/p>\n

In severe and dangerous times, strong poetry is more important than in easier times. J K makes space for both in \u201chappiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Best to read out loud, with pauses. \u00a0 Mid-week. \u00a0Have a blest day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

john sj<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Today\u2019s Post: \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cHAPPINESS\u201d
\nThere\u2019s just no accounting for happiness,
\nor the way it turns up like a prodigal
\nwho comes back to the dust at your feet
\nhaving squandered a fortune far away.<\/p>\n

And how can you not forgive?
\nYou make a feast in honor of what
\nwas lost, and take from its place the finest
\ngarment, which you saved for an occasion
\nyou could not imagine, and you weep night and day
\nto know that you were not abandoned,
\nthat happiness saved its most extreme form
\nfor you alone.<\/p>\n

No, happiness is the uncle you never
\nknew about, who flies a single-engine plane
\nonto the grassy landing strip, hitchhikes
\ninto town, and inquires at every door
\nuntil he finds you asleep midafternoon
\nas you so often are during the unmerciful
\nhours of your despair.<\/p>\n

It comes to the monk in his cell.
\nIt comes to the woman sweeping the street
\nwith a birch broom, to the child
\nwhose mother has passed out from drink.
\nIt comes to the lover, to the dog chewing
\na sock, to the pusher, to the basketmaker,
\nand to the clerk stacking cans of carrots
\nin the night.
\nIt even comes to the boulder
\nin the perpetual shade of pine barrens,
\nto rain falling on the open sea,
\nto the wineglass, weary of holding wine.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jane Kenyon (b. 1947 – d. 1995 \u00a0{leukemia} )<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Note # 1)<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Today\u2019s AJCU Conversations<\/u>, Ron Bernas\u2019s \u201cLiving the Mission at the University of \u00a0Detroit Mercy\u201d is a great read; \u00a0makes me proud to work here.<\/p>\n

(http:\/\/www.ajcunet.edu\/february-2017-connections-mission-identity-programs-on-jesuit-campuses\/2017\/2\/14\/university-of-detroit-mercy-thematic<\/a> \u00a0)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wednesday, February 22 \u00a0\u201cThere\u2019s just no accounting for happiness\u201d \u00a0 I\u2019d not met Jane Kenyon until David Grubin caught my\u00a0attention with her \u201cHappiness\u201d in an email this morning. \u00a0 Kenyon gets it about understated and playful joy emerging from tough … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11641],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2210"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2210"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2213,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2210\/revisions\/2213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}