I only yesterday discovered Frieda Hughes’ new column in The Times, “Poetry with Frieda Hughes,” in which she writes about a poem she likes.

The current column showcases “Time is on your side,” a poem by Galway Kinnell (Selected Poems, Bloodaxe Books).

The poem begins:

Wait, for now.
Distrust everything if you have to.
But trust the hours. Haven’t they carried you
everywhere, up to now?

The poem entreats a lover who’s lost love to wait, trust that time will make things “become interesting again.”

Frieda begins her response to the poem with, “Reading poems out loud is a way to really get a grip on them, because their sound is part of their strength and their beauty.” She ends with, “Time changes everything and there’s nothing that can change that. This is a poem I would send to every saddened friend in the hope that they let the hours carry them past the desolation they feel now, to a time when second-hand gloves become lovely again.”

That personal voice, making the poem a private, (yet universal) and very emotional experience. I searched the archives for more Poetry with Frieda Hughes and just loved each column. I’ll be reading all of these!