April is National Poetry Month, which seems particularly fitting this April. I’ve been reading a fair amount of Wendell Berry’s poetry lately. Always a favorite, his work is a particularly welcome refuge these strange days. And, reading his poetry usually makes me want to dig back into my own.
So here, for poetry month, is a poem of mine that feels right in these uncertain days. No matter how many novels I write, I’ll always have a fondness for the sweet brevity and emotional punch of a poem.
QUAKER LADIES
I once read something about how
the meek would inherit the earth
and it must be true—only look.
Every child knows the bright names of
Daisy and Buttercup sunning themselves
in mountain meadows.
Black-eyed Susan winks and waves.
But here, in grown over tracks,
on top of cold, windy mountains
where color is afraid to show,
you’ll find these.
Bluets the book says under
a picture of almost nothing.
Bluets for bare tinged petals
cupping a warm yellow center
like a pat of butter—like light.
Now leave the book and ask just folks.
They’ll call them Quaker Ladies
and I prefer the peaceful point of that.
Nature sows blankets, foamy and soft.
You’ll want to sink down
in how sweet and simple they are—
like something that already knows
how the world will turn out.
Bluets or Quaker Ladies? Either way they are a gentle refresher for eyes longing for spring color.
I love spring every year, but this year it’s EXTRA welcome!
My daffodils are finally coming up and every day on our walk I check the progress of the tree buds. Sighting our first swallows was a treat.
Really lovely, Sarah!
I’ve been writing Shakespearean sonnets as blog-post-comments since January 2019, and now have something over 3000 of the wee buggers. Madness.
But it can be cool to poke fun at the stereotype…
Some call me a poet,
but I need to make this clear;
rhyme comes from drinking Moet
mixed with Miller beer.
They say that I’m a borderline
drunk or alcoholic;
groovy, dude, that’s just fine,
for now my words can frolic
beyond the pale of reason,
beyond the wall of doubt,
for this is now their season,
and I have figured out
that structured verse (with which I’m brimmin’)
is a real good way to pick up women.
And THAT is the proper way to celebrate National Poetry Month!
🙂