Shame the rain

Spring is so darn fickle! On the Oregon Coast life is turning a brilliant green but the season teases with dodging sun and a damp chill. I'm eager — and not patiently it turns out — for floaty skirt and strappy sandal weather. 

During a free-write session at last week's Writers Group, Linnea Harper (a mentor-volunteer with me) was spot-on with this poem about my (premature) leap into spring: 

Spring Optimist

for Drew

She wears a spring dress

in the April shower that feels like

sweatshirts and fuzzy boots.

Sometimes you just have to

strap it on, I say, take what’s at hand

and give it a new shape,

wrap yourself up in it

like a sari or a sheath—

hair and lipstick just so—

dressed to lure a clear day,

prepared to shame the rain.

I've written poems to/for/about others, but never had one written 'for' me. What a treat! It feels good to be on the receiving end of words (yet another reason I love Poem in Your Pocket Day, which was when Linnea happened to write this poem). Thanks Linnea! 

Gifted

She likes the words coffee and zoom! 

She doesn't want to write poems or read poems or sit still. Last week as the other youngsters wrote and copied their favorite verse, the 10-year-old stood apart, defiant. 

So we wrote together, just the two of us. Simple things: A word for each letter of her name, such as kind, intelligent, energetic . . . She unfolded slowly, said she would share our poem with her father, then asked to take a book of poems home. 

The next day, she raced to me, her face flushed as she rattled through her backpack. "This is for you," she said. In her careful script, on special paper, she had copied a poem we had read together the day before. 

This confirms my love for Poem in Your Pocket Day. You never know what a poem will plant, what seed will grow.

Winners!

I'm very happy — exuberant even — to announce winners of the first annual Poetry Book Giveaway: 

If you're a winner and you see your name below, please email me at dcm@drewmyron.com with your mailing address so I can ship your book right away.  

Winner of Forecast, a word-art collaboration by Drew Myron and Tracy Weil, is A.M. (also known as Amber McQuillan) of Newfoundland.

Winner of The Real Warnings by Rhett Iseman Trull (one of my favorite poets and poetry collections), is Matthew Thorburn, a poet living in New York City. 

The Poetry Book Giveaway was created by poet Kelli Agodon to celebrate National Poetry Month and promote a love of, and appreciation for, poetry. Over 50 bloggers took part, giving away more than 100 poetry books.

The event has been a wonderful way to explore and discover a mix of new, unknown and established poets. Many thanks to Kelli at Book of Kells for including me as a Giveaway host, and to everyone for stopping by and entering the drawing. See you next year! 

Last Chance

Do you love books?

Free books?

Win free books here.

What's in your pocket?

Happy Poem In Your Pocket Day!

Today, you are officially encouraged to carry a poem, share a poem, write a poem, recite a poem . . . live your poem. It's one of my favorite 'holidays' — rivaling my love of May Day (the all but forgotten act of secretly leaving a clutch of flowers at a neighbor's door). 

Here's the poem I'll be carrying today:

A Great Need

Out
of a great need
we are all holding hands
and climbing.

Not loving is a letting go.
Listen,
the terrain around here
is
far too
dangerous
for
that.

— Hafiz

What poem will you carry and share?