Turns out that the month of April is National Poetry Month. Considering how much time I spend on the internet I am embarrassed to only be discovering this midway through the month. The word ‘poetry’ can easily conjure dreadful and boring images for those not enamored of verse, but the reality is that there is really something for everyone in the world of poetry. From the chilling verse of Edgar Allan Poe to the whimsical nature of the poetry of Shel Silverstein there are wonderful poems to delight the diligent reader.
The site Poets.org has many wonderful things up to celebrate the month including:
Simply register and sign up and they will email you a poem each day for the month of April. You can view all the previous poems of the day for April by visiting that link on their site and can register to receive their newsletter if you so desire. There is a section in which you can share your favorite verse and why it inspires you. You can also listen to current and archived podcasts.
Oddly enough I discovered that it was National Poetry Month via Neil Gaiman’s site. He linked to one of my favorite websites, The Endicott Studio, at which they are celebrating National Poetry Month with Poetry E-Postcards each day. Each daily postcard in an interesting image from a different artist with a brief portion of poetry from various authors. It is a great way to discover interesting artists and authors as they link to the sites of each person. A few days past this great image by Jeanie Tomanek:
accompanied this verse from Neil Gaiman’s Poem Instructions
Remember your name.
Do not lose hope  what you seek will be found.
Trust ghosts. Trust those that you have helped
to help you in their turn.
Trust dreams.
Trust your heart, and trust your story.
When you come back, return the way you came.
Favors will be returned, debts will be repaid.
Do not forget your manners.
Do not look back.
The entire poem can be found here and it is a wonderful brief verse that references a variety of fairy tales one is familiar with…or at least feels they are. Read it! You can go to the site and look at each postcard for the month thus far and check back daily to see they newest image and poem. It is a great resource for sending a little “hello” to friends and loved ones while also sharing interesting art and verse with them.
Shel Silverstein has an absolutely wonderful website that is fun for kids and for the kid still alive and well inside of you. There are activities, games, e-postcards celebrating National Poetry Month and a healthy portion of Silverstein’s wonderful poems.
Some examples:
One Inch Tall
If you were only one inch tall, you’d ride a worm to school.
The teardrop of a crying ant would be your swimming pool.
A crumb of cake would be a feast
And last you seven days at least,
A flea would be a frightening beast
If you were one inch tall.
If you were only one inch tall, you’d walk beneath the door,
And it would take about a month to get down to the store.
A bit of fluff would be your bed,
You’d swing upon a spider’s thread,
And wear a thimble on your head
If you were one inch tall.
You’d surf across the kitchen sink upon a stick of gum.
You couldn’t hug your mama, you’d just have to hug her thumb.
You’d run from people’s feet in fright,
To move a pen would take all night,
(This poem took fourteen years to write–
‘Cause I’m just one inch tall).
and one I found powerful and melancholic:
Forgotten Language
Once I spoke the language of the flowers,
Once I understood each word the caterpillar said,
Once I smiled in secret at the gossip of the starlings,
And shared a conversation with the housefly
in my bed.
Once I heard and answered all the questions
of the crickets,
And joined the crying of each falling dying
flake of snow,
Once I spoke the language of the flowers. . . .
How did it go?
How did it go?
If you’re so inclined I would love to know of your favorite poems/poets. Blogs like Following My Fish and Chaos Journals are a great place to read verse created by Jenn See and Mysfit as well as delicious poems they frequently share from other famous and not-so-famous poets. If you have not done so, give poetry a try. There really is something out there to stimulate every reader’s imagination.
I leave you with some verse by a treasured author G. K. Chesterton whose marvelous works can be perused here:
The Skeleton
Chattering finch and water-fly
Are not merrier than I;
Here among the flowers I lie
Laughing everlastingly.
No; I may not tell the best;
Surely, friends, I might have guessed
Death was but the good King’s jest,
It was hid so carefully.
