April Poetry

Spring urges us to see the world with new eyes. I'm not sure who chose April as poetry month but it seems fitting to me.  Poems are open invitation to think about something in a different way. New possibilities bring wonder to life. In honor of poetry month, I've been reading randomly from The Extraordinary Tide: New Poetry by American Women.  I am drawn to some poets more than others. A few poems are too rough for me but all are beautiful. I also respect the women who write from their hearts and experiences.

Projects by other makers inspire us to create. Now and then a poem I've read sparks one of my own. Several years after reading "Something Else" in Tether by Kirsten Dierking, I was with family at Homestead National Monument on an April day. I jotted a few notes about our walk on the trails. Later when I pulled them out, I thought of Dierking's poem. I have revised and refiled this poem many times. It is ready to be abandoned. Some famous poet (I can't remember who) said poems are never finished. They are just abandoned.

April at National Homestead Monument*

April 17, 2019

Be something else, the poet urges.

Walking a path through wooded draw, I touch

            bumps on hackberry bark,

            wide furrow of old oak,

            splinters in a hollow trunk.

Circling the prairie, I smell

            sharp edges of blackened grass,

            sulphur cell of butterfly wing,

            gusts of wind across the land.

Winding down the draw, I consider

            roots under my feet,

            earthworms chewing soil,

            dry leaves, and other debris.

Then, up in an oak,

            two coffee eyes above

            streaked breast of barred owl.  

             

Luminous beads, strung from tears,

            set in a head, that turns

            toward the prairie.

*copyright Jane A. Wolfe

Last night I finished knitting the Rewilding Shawl. This was definitely a process project. I enjoyed the knitting, the pattern, and the yarn base. I am not so sure about the pastel colors. I am anxious to see how it looks after a good soak and blocking. My shoulder isn't quite up to pushing a tighter gauge of stitches along a needle so I'll have to think carefully about the next project.

I am linking with Kat and the Unravelers where there will be plenty of inspiration for creating. However you celebrate Spring and your faith, I wish you a joyous season filled with new possibilities and inspiration.