Two birthdays are considered in the life of a poet, mother, radio host, professor, and earth citizen: our newest Poet Laureate for the Library of Congress, W.S. Merwin, a Poetry Slow Down fav in multiple roles, as translator of Neruda’s love poems (and Poetry Slow Down loves Pablo Neruda–think lemon ode! no, tomato ode!), as author of moving poems that seem to come up no matter what the topic of the week, and to inspire the week’s topics in the first place (including The Blind Seer of Ambon), and as an environmentalist conscience and activist along with John Muir, Aldo Leopold, Wendell Berry, and others in service of earth –and trees–who walk the talk—he’s one—his life work is so important to me in all I try to promote, so we celebrate his life; and the other is my own son, Nicolino Clarke Mossberg, who was born 30 years ago yesterday, he was bald then and is bald now, still precious, and so this is the anniversary of me as a mom, I went into delivery holding my journal thinking I was going to record this for a poetic moment, aware there is little poetry on giving birth!–now I know why . . . and I will share with you some poetry on this occasion of humility and some of what I have learned as a poet and human being. This is Professor Barbara Mossberg, at the Poetry Slow Down, Join me! Lyric cake and song and do we hear Lamaze breathing? Stay tuned! KRXA 540AM, Produced by Hal Ginsberg, podcast by Sara Hughes, BarbaraMossberg.com.

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