April is National Poetry Month. Established in 1966 by the Academy of American Poets, it’s a celebration of poetry’s “vital place in American culture.” I’m happy to do a little bit of celebrating of that vitality here on Red Shutters. And, I’m not the only one: the US Postal Service has gotten into the mix. To coincide with National Poetry Month, the Postal Service is releasing commemorative stamps featuring 20 twentieth-century poets. You can visit the Postal Service’s website to learn more about who they selected.
I love stamps, don’t you? They are a small way to make a statement. And, these stamps are a wonderful way to make that thank you letter or bill (does anyone pay their bills via check anymore?) a bit more literate and meaningful.
Speaking of meaningful, today’s poetry choice is very specific: defiance is my theme, in honor, if you will, of my beloved 2.5 year old daughter who is taking stubborn to a whole new level. She’s redefining it, actually. Happy Poetry Month!
Momma Said
By Calvin Forbes
The slice I ate I want it back
Those crumbs I swept up
I’d like my share again
I can still taste it like it was
The memory by itself is delicious
Each bite was a small miracle
Both nourishing and sweet
I wish I had saved just a little bit
I know it wasn’t a literal cake
It’s the thought that counts
Like a gift that’s not store-bought
Making it even more special
Like a dream that makes you
Want to go back to sleep
You can’t have your cake
And eat it too Momma said
I was defiant and hardheaded
And answered yes I can too
The look she gave me said boy
I hope you aren’t a fool all your life
One Response
In celebration of your poetry month celebration, here’s an offering:
SERIOUS MATTERS
I take a walk
through a pine-thick woods
thinking:
This is good for my heart,
my muscles, my weight.
inhale the sweet, crisp air
that surrounds me,
thinking:
This relaxes my mind.
This nourishes my being.
My four-year-old son, however,
has no such trivial objectives in mind
as he strides purposefully beside me,
a scientist entering his laboratory
to inventory equipment,
develop hypotheses,
evaluate test results.
His assessment of a frozen puddle
produces multiple measurements
within minutes.
“Look how this ice breaks when I tap it with my shoe.”
(And a finger
a fist,
a stick,
a large rock
and a small rock.)
“Or when I jump on it.”
He throws a sheet of clear ice into the air
and watches with clinical satisfaction
as it hits the ground and grandly explodes,
a crystalline fireworks display.
More data.
For my four-year-old scientist,
these experiments create answers,
empirical evidence of the properties
and potentiality of matter.
But for me, they create a question:
Why is nature able to produce what many of us cannot: An unbored child.
Christie Lowrance, 1975
Sandwich, MA