April is poetry month! While I believe every month should include some whimsy and rhyme, this month is dedicated to creating further awareness of this genre of written expression.
There are more than seven thousand languages, and all of them have poetry. While the poetic forms might differ from language to language, culture to culture, poems have a similar purpose: to reveal truth, spark joy, help us understand others and make some kind of comment on what it means to be human. Thousands of languages but one heartbeat.
Reading and writing poetry not only connects us to billions of other humans who make up our planet, but also to the universe itself, as we interpret the stars as a wink, breezes that whisper, and lightning that dances across the sky.
Here are some poems that might spark your interest:
Where Home is
Where I smell my dad’s morning coffee,
My mom’s meatballs,
And my grandmother’s lotion –
That’s where home is
Naani is an Indian form of poetry. It has four lines, a total of between twenty and twenty – five syllables and is often about relationships.
Triangular
It
Has three
Sides that are
Equal, sometimes, unless it’s
An isosceles or a scalene triangle
In which case only two sides are the same length.
A concrete poem’s shape resembles the subject of the poem. The letters, words or symbols are arranged on the page to make a picture.
A tree is leaning.
The wind is calling its name.
It bows to the Earth.
A Haiku has three lines. Line 1 has five syllables, line 2 has seven and the final line has five. Think of a Haiku as a sandwich, with the five-syllable lines as the bread and the seven-syllable line as the stuff in the middle. Tr
*Fabulous Five*
Great Gusts – Melanie Crowder and Megan Benedict introduce the reader to fourteen winds of the world with poetic descriptions and factual sidebars. Enjoy stunning illustrations by Khoa Le
A Light in the Attic – Shel Silverstein writes in his classic humor about nonsense scenarios with entertaining pen and ink illustrations.
Poetry for Young People – Carl Sandburg takes a step back in history, embracing his childhood travels in free verse, reflecting the land and people he observed.
When Green Becomes Tomatoes – By Julie Fogliano celebrates the seasons month by month, highlighting holidays and nature.
Poetrees – Douglas Florian’s tree-mendous pictures alongside prose highlight the enormity and shapes of trees.
Summer Camp
There are still two spots available for “Brush Away the Cobwebs.” August 10th – 14th from 9:00 to 3:00. Please email me for more details.
