Weekend Poetry Date - Week 4

Weekend Poetry Dates are a weekly series of posts reporting on this newbie's exploration of poetry during National Poetry Month (April 2012). See all the posts here.

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"Poetry... is ear candy. It's a blind date with enchantment. It's the first refuge against indifference."

~ J. Patrick Lewis

It's the last week! Where oh where did the month go?

I didn't quite write as much poetry as I would have liked to nor did I read as much, but I did read some and I even tried my hand at a few superficial haikus (read: I only followed the 5-7-5 rule, none of the others and I'm now just learning that I counted syllables and not necessarily ons, soooo looks like I just wrote a few really short poems, but I digress...). All of this is more than I'd done in the past several years - plus I posted about it all here.

I'm happy.

I thought I'd leave you with one of the haiku-like poems I wrote following the haiku-based 5-7-5 syllable guideline and a beautiful true haiku by Issa.*

Mine was inspired by a child's reaction to, from an adult's perspective, rather unfortunate circumstances:

Toddler stomps with glee

Father sighs and brushes car

April snow falls white

~ SG

And I leave you with this one by Issa:

Live in simple faith

Just as the trusting cherry

Flowers, fades, and falls

~ Issa

I hope you enjoyed our weekend poetry dates. I know I did.

* I discovered the poem by Issa thanks to a lovely application I purchased for the iPad called Chasing Fireflies. Combining haiku with soothing sounds and visuals, it's a delight to the senses.

Weekend Poetry Date: Week 3

Weekend Poetry Dates are a weekly series of posts reporting on this newbie's exploration of poetry during National Poetry Month (April 2012). See all the posts here.

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Mud Lake, Ottawa, 2008

This weekend, in honour of Earth Day, I offer you a poem by Wendell Berry. His words make me swoon.

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

~ Wendell Berry

Weekend Poetry Date - Week 2

Weekend Poetry Dates are a weekly series of posts reporting on this newbie's exploration of poetry during National Poetry Month (April 2012). See all the posts here.

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 "Look for the poetry that grows under your feet."

~ Rainer Marie Rilke

I haven't written any poetry yet, but I've read more in the past two weeks than I have in the past 10 years. It's interesting to see which ones grab me and which ones don't.

I haven't given much time to any contemporary poets, most of my readings are from typical introductory books like The 100 Best Poems of All Time, or Poems Worth Knowing (that last one's from 1958!). Thanks to Tingle and her amazing list in last week's comments though, I think I'll make a point of branching out into more recent writings this coming week.

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This past week brought a major insight: When it comes to poetry I have no patience.

I tend to get bored easily by super long poems (Longfellow's Evangeline excepted, but that's because I'm Acadian and the story is dear to my heart). Old or complex language loses me and so do complex metaphors.

I guess I like my poetry short and I like it obvious. I didn't know that about me.

Case in point, out of the 100 Best Poems of All Time - and granted I didn't read them all - the one that took my breath away was An Old Pond by Matsuo Bashō, written in the 1600s:

Old pond—

A frog leaps in—

Water's sound.

I see it. I hear it. Can you?

Weekend Poetry Date

"At the most important moments, when everyone else is silent, poetry rises to speak."

~ Ralph Fletcher, Poetry Matters

A friend issued a challenge to a group of us to observe National Poetry Month, not necessarily by writing poetry every day (though we're certainly free to do so!), but by bringing it to the forefront for the 30 days of April.

I thought I'd use my blog as a place to explore and share some findings.

I'm not familiar with poetry at all. I know nothing of its technicalities, rules or structures, I've no favourite poem, and a lot of older poetry I just don't get.

But some of the newer stuff I do.

Here's one I received from a dear friend to kick off the month (thank you K.). It made me weep.

The Word by Tony Hoagland

Down near the bottom

of the crossed-out list

of things you have to do today,

between "green thread"

and "broccoli" you find

that you have penciled "sunlight."

Resting on the page, the word

is as beautiful, it touches you

as if you had a friend

and sunlight were a present

he had sent you from some place distant

as this morning —to cheer you up,

and to remind you that,

among your duties, pleasure

is a thing,

that also needs accomplishing

Do you remember?

that time and light are kinds

of love, and love

is no less practical

than a coffee grinder

or a safe spare tire?

Tomorrow you may be utterly

without a clue

but today you get a telegram,

from the heart in exile

proclaiming that the kingdom

still exists,

the king and queen alive,

still speaking to their children,

—to any one among them

who can find the time,

to sit out in the sun and listen.

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I hope to touch on poetry here at least every weekend, maybe more if the mood strikes.

I may share more poems, some of my own writings or maybe some interesting resources I find for the uninitiated, like me.

I hope you'll join me.

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Do you have a favourite poem or poet? I'd love to get some suggested readings!