Little Ache by Li-Young Lee - Poem for the First Sunday in Advent, Year B
The Englewood Review of Books curates a weekly series of classic and contemporary poems that resonate with the themes of the lectionary readings. Here is one of the poems for this coming Sunday (More poems for First Sunday in Advent can be found here)
This poem was selected to accompany one of the
lectionary readings for the coming week, Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
CONTEMPORARY POEM:
Little Ache
Li-Young Lee
SNIPPET:
That sparrow on the iron railing,
not worth a farthing, purchases a realm
its shrill cries measure, trading
dying for being.
…
Li-Young Lee (b. 1957) is an American poet, who was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, to Chinese parents. In 1959 the Lee family fled Indonesia to escape widespread anti-Chinese sentiment and after a five-year trek through Hong Kong and Japan, they settled in the United States in 1964. Many of Lee's poems are filled with themes of simplicity, strength, and silence. All are strongly influenced by his family history, childhood, and individuality. (via Wikipedia).