Five Days In

Five days in to National Poetry Month and here are the things I've learned so far:

I get inspired when I have a journal open on my lap and a pen in my hand. I used to spend a majority of my days like this and I really don't anymore. I carry the tiniest little journal in my purse and it does not seem to count. I need access to a bona fide 8 1/2 by 11 comp book at all times. This is a good thing to know.

I wouldn't have made it through the first two days without the enforced solitude and stasis of the pick up line at Max's school.

Writing makes me hungry.

When you are in a hurry the internet can be so sloooooow.

More people than I ever imagined are checking in over at For the Time Being. Very few comments but the page views are through the roof

Sitting down to write every day makes me miss the writing I used to do here.

Is National Poetry Month making you hungry too? Are you too dissatisfied with the size of the journal in your purse? As for me, I think I'm going to need a bigger purse.

Getting Back in the Swing

I have every intention of writing a poem and publishing it here every day in April for National Poetry Month. It is a great practice and a way to immerse yourself in writing/thinking about poems for the entire month.

There is one more reason. Week before last when I was casting about for one more shortish poem to round out my reading, I went back to look at the poems I wrote last year. Taken individually, they aren't much to look at. But viewed as parts/sections/fragments of a larger, longer poem, I actually liked them. I liked them a lot. And I did pull a little fragment out to use during the reading.

Moment

 Halfway through

the rambling description
of yesterday's sky I realize
this is going
nowhere.

It would certainly help
if the grass were not
so damn green

or if the light did not insist
on shoving itself
through the blinds
so provocatively

if dinner did not want
so desperately
to be prepared

mushrooms leaping off the counter
and the fish leaning suggestively
toward the oven.

So I am doing it again for the little herd of poems and fragments it will give me to work with in the days ahead.

I Wrote a Poem Every Day in April

So, I wrote a poem every day (except for two of the days we were caught up in the state robotics competition) in April to celebrate National Poetry Month.

In case you are new, I posted them here.

I did it because writing a poem every day is a pretty cool discipline - a good way to stretch some creative muscles that were getting a little flabby and also for this:

What you see there are the pages of rough sketches I did for the little snippets I eventually posted online. Ninety percent of those pages have writing on both sides. That, my friends, is a nice-sized pile of raw poetry material to noodle around with in the next few months. Between these notes and the bits I put online I'd be willing to bet there are several juicy poems worth of images and ideas.

I'm glad I did it. Most days, it was a lot of fun.


So, thank you for reading along. If you'd like to weigh in on what you liked best, I am always happy to have your comments.

National Poetry Month: Day Thirty

Okay, here you go - today's poem.

National Poetry Month: Day Twenty Nine

Here is today's poem.

National Poetry Month: Day Twenty Eight

Absolutely & Utterly the Best Part of My Day

Oh, and there was a poem too.

National Poetry Month: Day Twenty Seven

We finally saw The Hunger Games today. It was intense. Oh, and there was a poem too.

National Poetry Month: Day Twenty Six

Here is the poem for today.

National Poetry Month: Day Twenty Five

Here is the frenzied scribbling for today. (I was obviously influenced by yesterday's sausage.)

National Poetry Month: Day Twenty Three

Ta daaa! Here's today's poem.

National Poetry Month: Day Twenty Two

You can find today's poem right here.

National Poetry Month: Day Twenty One

I've typed national so many times this month, it doesn't look right any more. Today's poem is here.

National Poetry Month: Day Twenty

Here is today's poem.

National Poetry Month: Day Nineteen

Katie, you were right. Here's today's poem.

National Poetry Month: Day Eighteen

Stirring pasta sauce with one hand and posting today's poem with the other!

National Poetry Month: Day Seventeen

Here is today's poem.

National Poetry Month: Day 14 & 15

I am just going to call these two days lost for now. Saturday was Max's robotics competition and today was a long, rainy drive home. Something may come of the notes from these two days but it is not going to happen today. Tomorrow, back on the horse!

National Poetry Month: Day Thirteen

Yesterday's poem is here. (Sorry, Ruthie, no robot!)

National Poetry Month: Day Twelve

Today's poem.

National Poetry Month: Day Ten

Today I've got nothing. Here's proof.