Hay for the Horses
by Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder’s ‘Hay for the Horses’ records the activities such as bringing hay to the barn, storing them in order, and having lunch. This piece appears in Riprap & Cold Mountain Poems (1959).
How Poetry Comes to Me
by Gary Snyder
‘How Poetry Comes to Me’ by Gary Snyder is a thoughtful poem about receiving inspiration. The poet uses symbolism and other literary devices to depict poetic inspiration as an animal moving through the woods of his mind.
Mid-August at Sourdough Mountain Lookout
by Gary Snyder
‘Mid-August at Sourdough Mountain Lookout’ by Gary Snyder is a beautiful two-stanza poem. In it, the speaker conveys descriptions from the top of Sourdough Mountain.
Milton by Firelight
by Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder’s ‘Milton by Firelight’ is based on Satan’s comment in Paradise Lost and how it is relevant in the present time given the condition of the environment and humankind.
Riprap
by Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder’s ‘Riprap’ describes how the oddly beautiful order of nature is “a riprap of things,” set in order from time immemorial. This piece taps on the themes of metaphysics, nature, and language.