1 Poem by Rodger Martin

Benediction

American Rural

(In conjunction with Rachmoninov’s Hymn of the Cherubim)

Sweet glycerin of evening

descending

into the purple cup

of night,

dark wine

of the rocking cradle,

solitude’s embroidery;

bring forward

the receding galaxies,

pass onto this globe

the shade of planets,

open quietly

the satin arms

of the moonflower,

let its limbs

embrace and perfume

these opals of the sky.

Evening resin

cure us

with your clarity

that we wake,

wide-eyed as children

to the clover

and the hushed breeze

of this Earth,

to the soft pulse

of its wrist,

and the slight smile

brought with its breath.

Bionote 

Rodger Martin’s third poetry volume, The Battlefield Guide , (Hobblebush) uses locations on battlefields of the Civil War to reflect upon America today. Small Press Review selected The Blue Moon Series (Hobblebush), as its bi-monthly pick of the year.  A translation of his work, On The Monadnock, appeared in China in 2006.    He received an Appalachia poetry award, a N.H. Council on the Arts Fiction Fellowship, the Bruce Kedller/Monadnock Fellowship to pursue his writing and fellowships from The National Endowment for the Humanities.  In 2012 he was chosen as poet to represent the U.S. at Hangzhou, China’s annual international cultural festival.  He serves as co-editor for The Granite State Poetry Series and teaches journalism at Keene State College.