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The Daily Poem

Donald Justice's "there is a gold light in certain old paintings"

The Daily Poem

Goldberry Studios

Education For Kids, Arts, Kids & Family

4.6729 Ratings

🗓️ 13 August 2019

⏱️ 8 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Happy birthday to Donald Justice! Today's poem is his "there is a gold light in certain old paintings." If you like this podcast please rate or review the show!

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome back to the daily poem here in the Close Reeds Podcast Network.

0:07.5

I'm David Kern.

0:08.7

Today's poem is by Donald Justice.

0:11.6

He was born on August 12, 1925, and that makes today his birthday.

0:16.7

He was an American poet who won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1980.

0:21.8

He also received the Lann and Literary Award for Poetry in 1996 and several other awards.

0:26.4

He was a grant winner from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation,

0:30.9

and the National Endowment for the Arts.

0:32.7

He died in 2004 at the age of 78.

0:36.3

The poem that I'm going to read today is called,

0:38.3

There is a Gold Light in Certain Old Paintings. Goes like this.

0:45.9

There is a gold light in certain old paintings that represents a diffusion of sunlight.

0:51.8

It is like happiness when we are happy. It comes from everywhere and from nowhere at

0:56.9

once this light, and the poor soldiers sprawled at the foot of the cross share in its charity equally

1:01.7

with the cross. Two, Orpheus hesitated beside the Black River. With so much to look forward to, he looked back.

1:13.2

We think he sang then, but the song is lost.

1:17.0

At least he had seen once more the beloved back.

1:20.4

I say the song went this way.

1:23.1

Oh, prolong now the sorrow if that is all there is to prolong.

1:28.7

Three.

1:31.4

The world is very dusty, uncle. Let us work.

1:35.9

One day the sickness shall pass from the earth for good.

...

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