Welcome to National Poetry Month!
I stumbled upon a lovely way to think of poetry, courtesy of Aimee Nezhukumatathil (thank you, Marcie!): To poet is ‘to make’. It was exactly the permission I needed to let go of the perfect sentence.
National Poetry Month is a celebration of creative expression, with the goal of making poetry accessible to anyone.
Join me each day in April (scroll down for the calendar).
I’ll be sharing some of my own creations, and with permission, some of those by my poetry partners: sisters, sons, nephews, and friends. We are young and old, working and retired; we are teachers, foresters, lawyers, doctors, librarians, writers, rock-climbers, and dog-lovers; we are lovers of the written word.Â
To Poet Is ‘To Make’
When story arcs won’t arc
when prose fails
when I cannot gather
the scattered words
to form an organized thought,
I surrender
to the lyrical,
to rhythm,
to the music that comes
with one word.
It points me to another
willing to stand with it.
They agree to accommodate
more, if I promise
not to crowd them,
if I promise
not to force a sound, an idea;
if I promise to listen,
to wait
for the right words.
©2022 Patricia J. Franz
It’s also #PoetryFriday!Â
Want to know more? Click here.
Heidi at my juicy little universe has both a National Poetry Month kickoff and the links to the weekly round up!Â
Patricia Franz writes picture books and poetry. She believes children, dogs, and sourdough have a lot to teach us about life, joy, and wonder. She has raised two boys, four dogs, and holds a master’s degree in Theology with a focus on children’s spirituality. Patricia, her husband, her Bernese Mountain dog, Bonny, and her sourdough starter split their time between the Arizona desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains. 
Oh, yes, I am trying to surrender this month!! I would love to share this in my classroom with my 6th graders for our Poetry Madness. We select poems to read, share, and explore during our testing season. This would also pair nicely with Billy Collins’ Introduction to Poetry.
Aww, thanks Leigh Anne. Please do share it if it would be helpful! That’s exactly what we hope: to make poetry accessible! Thanks!
What a fun (and COLORFUL) plan you have for the month! I love “to poet” as a verb!
Me, too! All credit to Aimee N.!
To me your poem speaks to the patience required in creating poems, listening and waiting for the right combination of ideas, sounds and all else that goes into it. Beautifully said.
Thank you, Janice!
Awesome, Patricia, I wish you were at the bargaining table in politics, getting “They agree to accommodate” to happen. I look forward to all the sharing!
lol – would that poets could be in charge!
What a schedule you’ve built for yourself, Patricia! I think I’ve always needed poetry as an antidote to my structured, controlling tendencies. I especially like your lines “It points me to another
willing to stand with it.
They agree to accommodate
more, if I promise
not to crowd them,”
Poetry has become a guiding light to my writing routine. Thanks for hosting this week, Heidi!
This is such a beautiful way to start poetry month, Patricia. I love it all, but especially
“I surrender
to the lyrical,
to rhythm,
to the music that comes
with one word.”
Thank you for sharing your gift of words.
Thank you, Rose. I’m looking forward to the month!
Yay! I’m so glad you like Aimee’s poems. I’m a HUGE fan. 🙂 Love your poem as well.
Thank you, Marcie!
Such sage advice. We never win if we intend to do battle with words, do we? I surrender! Happy NPM!
lol– something about “words” having the last word, maybe? Thanks for stopping, Christie!
Wow! How freeing to think of making the way you’ve described it. I hope you enjoy Poetry Month and it leads to lots more writing. Have fun playing with all the colorful words.
Credit goes to Aimee N. for “to poet is to make”! Thanks, Linda!
I am impressed by everything about this post and your NPM project, Patricia. I love your repeated line “if I promise”… so hard but necessary.
Yes, “if I promise” might be another poem all by itself! Thanks, Bridget!
Oh, I love your poem, Patricia! It is so true! I love it when the words just come and flow together. We all need to try and let this happen. Some days – it’s hard and others, it is easier, but it should always be the goal – right?! One of the things I really liked about teaching writers’ circles to third graders was their reaction when I told them they didn’t need to worry about making full sentences! Oh, the joy!
…the joy and the FREEDOM to just write words! What a great message you gave those young writers!
Yes to making poetry, and these thoughts from your poem too:
“to listen,
to wait
for the right words.”
Thanks Patricia, happy waiting and poetry writing!
Thank you for stopping by, Michelle!