Hugo Schwyzer often posts short poems on Thursdays, in a series he calls (understandably enough) "Thursday Short Poems." Previous installments in the series have included Rich's Since We're Not Young, Szymborska's In Praise of Feeling Bad, and Milosz's Love. Today his Thursday Short Poem is one of mine! Check it out: Thursday Short Poem: Barenblat's "Mother Psalm." 

I've always felt that poems ought to be able to stand on their own, without authorial intrusion. But sometimes authorial explanations are fun; one of the reasons I enjoy poetry readings is the chance to hear poets talk about how their poems came into being. In the case of this poem, the story goes like this: when I was leaving graduate school, my advisor David Lehman noted that my poems often draw on Jewish tradition, and suggested I try writing prayers and psalms. I opened my Tanakh, started reading, and immediately had an idea for this somewhat sardonic variant on Psalm 1.

These days, if pushed, I would say "Mother Psalm" isn't strictly speaking a psalm; it's not a poem of praise or supplication. (That was the criterion I used when I pulled together this handout of psalms and praise poems for Shavuot last spring.) But it is definitely shaped by the psalm form, and I think it's an interesting meditation on a mother/daughter relationship. (And yes, it's meant to be tongue-in-cheek.) Incidentally, the liturgical poems I write these days -- like these morning blessings -- also arose out of David's suggestion. So in a way, despite their profound difference in tone, they're cousins to "Mother Psalm."

Anyway, thanks for the reprint, Hugo! I'm honored to be in such august company. "Mother Psalm" is published in What Stays, my second chapbook, part of the Bennington Writing Seminars Alumni Chapbook Series, which you can pick up for $10 (shipping included!) by leaving a comment below.

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