Poems for Company - June 22, 2026

“Gone Parents“: Poets featured today consider deceased parents, somewhat sentimentally or as mysterious dream figures.  Ted Kooser, “Mother” and “Father,” from Delights & Shadows (Copper Canyon Press, 2004).  Seamus Heaney, “Uncoupled,” from Selected Poems 1988-2013 (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014; originally published in Human Chain (2010).  Kathleen Flenniken, “The Sound of a Train,” from Famous (U. of Nebraska Press, 2006), used with the kind permission of the author.  I am sorry to report that Philip Aaberg died in late May of this year.  When I reached out to him years ago and requested to use his music on my show, he was spontaneously generous.  Compelling in concert, he continues to be...