{"id":6042,"date":"2018-03-21T08:27:48","date_gmt":"2018-03-21T15:27:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/?p=6042"},"modified":"2018-03-21T08:27:48","modified_gmt":"2018-03-21T15:27:48","slug":"ivan-m-granger-when-the-spring-thaw-comes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/2018\/03\/21\/ivan-m-granger-when-the-spring-thaw-comes\/","title":{"rendered":"Ivan M. Granger – When the Spring Thaw Comes"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the Spring Thaw Comes
\nby Ivan M. Granger<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Something they
\nwon\u2019t tell you \u2013<\/p>\n

That book of sins
\nyou hide
\nbeneath your pillow
\nmatters
\nnot at all.<\/p>\n

When the spring thaw comes
\nwe all go mad
\nand shred it,
\ntossing love notes
\nleft and right
\nscribbled on the scraps.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a> — from Diamond Cutters: Visionary Poets in America, Britain & Oceania<\/a>, Edited by Andrew Harvey \/ Edited by Jay Ramsay<\/font><\/p>\n


\/ Image by Ana-mcara<\/a> \/<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

It has been a while since I last featured one of my own poems. Something to welcome spring.<\/p>\n

We all do it, keep a hidden notebook detailing each and every failing. When it comes to that book of self-recrimination, we memorize each page with a cruel clarity. We can list each imperfection. The tally on the final page tells us in blunt mathematics how we are not who we imagine we should be. We brutalize ourselves with this book.<\/p>\n

It is not that any line item in this ledger is untrue or that we should not feel remorse when we stumble or cause hurt.<\/p>\n

But something happens. Spring’s first dawn breaks. The old self, in stunned silence, just falls away. And with it goes all those old calculations.<\/p>\n

All that then remains of those countless self-cruelties are our secret love notes written to a new self and a new world filled with new life.<\/p>\n

Happy spring! And to all of my Persian and Middle Eastern friends, Happy Nowruz!<\/p>\n


\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a>Recommended Books: Ivan M. Granger<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Longing in Between: Sacred Poetry from Around the World (A Poetry Chaikhana Anthology)<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nReal Thirst: Poetry of the Spiritual Journey<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nFor Lovers of God Everywhere: Poems of the Christian Mystics<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nDiamond Cutters: Visionary Poets in America, Britain & Oceania<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nPoems of Awakening: An International Anthology of Spiritual Poetry<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
More Books >><\/a><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/center>
\n<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\"Ivan<\/a>\n<\/td>\n\nIvan M. Granger<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

US (1969 – )
\nSecular or Eclectic<\/a><\/a>
\nYoga \/ Hindu<\/a> : Advaita \/ Non-Dualist<\/a><\/em>\n<\/td>\n

[ad#Adsense-4]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

Ivan M. Granger is the founder and editor of the Poetry Chaikhana<\/i>, a publishing house and online resource for sacred poetry from around the world. He is the author of Real Thirst: Poetry of the Spiritual Journey<\/i> and editor of The Longing in Between: A Poetry Chaikhana Anthology<\/i>. His poetry and translations have been included in several magazines and anthologies. <\/p>\n

Ivan grew up in Oregon and Southern California. He has also lived on the island of Maui. He now lives in Colorado with his wife, Michele.<\/p>\n

“Poetry has an immediate effect on the mind. The simple act of reading poetry alters thought patterns and the shuttle of the breath. Poetry induces trance. Its words are chant. Its rhythms are drumbeats. Its images become the icons of the inner eye. Poetry is more than a description of the sacred experience; it carries the experience itself.”<\/i><\/p>\n

==<\/p>\n

Poetry Chaikhana readers often ask me about myself. Who is the guy behind all those poetry emails? What drew you to sacred poetry? And just what does “Poetry Chaikhana” mean?<\/p>\n

As a way to answer some of those questions, I thought I’d post an audio interview<\/a> I did a few years ago. I talk a little about myself, and a lot about poetry — the transformational power of poetry, the ways poetry naturally expresses the sacred experience, the non-dogmatic nature of poetry. And I read a few poems.<\/p>\n

Click to listen: Interview with Ivan M. Granger<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

==<\/p>\n

Email Ivan M. Granger<\/a><\/p>\n