I’m working on a poem that’s so true, I can’t show it to anyone.
I could never show it to anyone.
Because it says exactly what I think, and what I think scares me.
Sometimes it pleases me.
Usually it brings misery.
And this poem says exactly what I think.
What I think of myself, what I think of my friends, what I think about my lover.
Exactly.
Excerpt from A True Poem by Lloyd Schwartz
Do you write poetry? Do you share it with anyone? I’ve written some poems before and even had some published in college journals. Quite a thrill I have to say. I love poetry and to me it really is a perfect way to explore feelings and thoughts.
So happy National Poetry Month to everyone. I mentioned in my previous post that my goal is to get in more poetry in my life this month. To that end, I’ve signed up for a Poem-A-Day and will be dipping into some of my favorite collections. Will you be reading some poetry this month? Share with me some of your favorite poets.
I’ve written some poetry over the years, but much prefer reading good poetry to writing my bad stuff! I get Poem-A-Day and sometimes find familiar favorites and sometimes new poems and poets.
I love John Donne, Denise Levertov, Gerard Manley Hopkins, e.e. cummings, W.H. Auden, T.S. Eliot…on and on. Can’t even think of all of them right now.
Happy Natl Poetry Month to you, and thanks for sharing “A True Poem.”
We had an Open Mic Poetry Circle at the bookshop last Sunday – poetry is so different when read aloud! I’ve learned that I need to hear it with my ears to truly appreciate it. I did get up and read a Billy Collins poem, inspired by my 15 yr old daughter who just wrote a paper on “On Turning Ten.”
Enjoy those daily poems from Knopf!
I think I get in most of my poetry through other bloggers! Happy poetry month! 🙂
Happy National Poetry Month 🙂 I do love poetry and used to write it in highschool. I still have notebooks full of my old poems.
I like Emily Dickinson, Pablo Neruda and Amy Lowell to name a few.
I realize I’ve missed some Mary Oliver and Billy Collins. This might be a good time to catch up with those, but I might just browse the library shelves and see if I can find some new favourites too.
I’ve never written much poetry but my teenage son writes quite a bit. I guess he would probably say that he is writing “songs” since he thinks that makes it sound more hip but he is definitely writing poetry! I look forward to you sharing more about poetry this month!
jenclair – I loved the poem-a-day they sent out on Sunday. You’ve named some poets I love – Auden, Cummings, oh so many to revisit with.
Dawn – That is fantastic! I love to go to open mic readings. I totally love to hear poetry. It just makes it that much more special. It is hard to read poetry in front of a group though so congrats for getting up there!
Danielle – I can think of a few I go to when I want to read poetry – bookworm, serena, in particular come to mind! 🙂
bookworm – You should totally post one of your poems! You’ve got two of my favorites – Dickinson and Neruda. Such amazing poets. Haven’t read much of Lowell but need to read more!
BuriedInPrint – I missed getting Billy Collins’ last book but my library has it so I’m going to borrow it. I should just buy it as I’m sure I’ll want to add it to my collection. Thank you for reminding me of Mary Oliver – she’s great too.
Kathleen – That’s awesome that your son enjoys writing. And, I also think of songs as poetry – well some of them anyway 🙂