Ten Poems to Change Your Life

Great poetry calls into question everything. It dares us to break free from the safe strategies of the cautious mind. It opens us to pain and joy and delight. It amazes, startles, pierces, and transforms us. It can lead to communion and grace.

Through the voices of ten inspiring poets and his own reflections, the author of Sacred America shows how poetry illuminates the eternal feelings and desires that stir the human heart and soul. These poems explore such universal themes as the awakening of wonder, the longing for love, the wisdom of dreams, and the courage required to live an authentic life. In thoughtful commentary on each work, Housden offers glimpses into his personal spiritual journey and invites readers to contemplate the significance of the poet’s message in their own lives.

In Ten Poems to Change Your Life, Roger Housden shows how these astonishing poems can inspire you to live what you always knew in your bones but never had the words for.

＂The Journey＂ by Mary Oliver
＂Last Night as I Was Sleeping＂ by Antonio Machado
＂Song of Myself＂ by Walt Whitman
＂Zero Circle＂ by Rumi
＂The Time Before Death＂ by Kabir
＂Ode to My Socks＂ by Pablo Neruda
＂Last Gods＂ by Galway Kinnell
＂For the Anniversary of My Death＂ by W. S. Merwin
＂Love After Love＂ by Derek Walcott
＂The Dark Night＂ by St. John of the Cross

Roger Housden gives public recitals of ecstatic poetry from the world’s great literary and spiritual traditions. He lives in Northern California with his wife, Maria. He is the author of nine books and is a lifelong student of the beauty of the word, including poetry. His previous books include Sacred America: The Emerging Spirit of the People and Travels Through Sacred India.