Got Poetry?

Writing in verse is more fun than driving a mini-Cooper on a curvy road. Ever since I took the brakes off of my inner poet, my pen has been racing its ink out. And to think, I didn’t believe poetry was my cup of tea. Turns out, it’s my Route 44 of strawberry fruit slush.

The misconception about poetry that kept me – a one-time prolific songwriter – from trying it sooner was that it’s a highfalutin art form. While poems often do exceed my mental grasp, I’ve learned that straightforward poetry is equally legitimate. This poem – written by 10-
year-old Marc Duskin – is published in Miracles*:

GROWNUPS
Grownups are silly,
They never drink coffee
When it’s served
To them.
They just talk
And never drink it
Until it’s cold.
Isn’t that silly?
I haven’t grown
Since I was five
I haven’t grown at all –
Grownups are just getting shorter.

I find The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing Poetry to be a good poetry primer. But what has been most instructive for me is being part of poetry critique groups, readings, and workshops. The organizer of the poetry events I’ve experienced so far is our own Mary Margaret Carlisle, a member of B.A.W.L. I will always appreciate Mary Margaret for hooking me up with my favorite art form.

Poetry is an ideal match for my love of words. It’s the catalyst that has allowed me to get more intimate with them. Poet Marie Jordan says in 2005 Poet’s Market: “Poetry forces the writer to plunge deeper into the language, to examine and explore and find insight and meaning in tight places. Poetry squeezes the poet for meaning; it is an art that forces poet and reader alike into a place of breathtaking discovery.”

Since taking up poetry, more than my muse has come out of hiding, as expressed in this poem I wrote.

Quest
Was an Official Court Reporter
An instructor for a while
Administrative secretary
Years of effort
Merely trials
One day I took up writing –
Love I’d placed upon a shelf
While delving into poetry
I found
My long lost self.

For information about local poetry events, contact Mary Margaret Carlisle Sol.Editor@prodigy.net.

* Miracles is a book of poems written by children and collected by Richard Lewis

(published October 2006)