Tag: National Poetry Month

8 – Pro Tempore

Derivations of the word RETURN:

early 14th century “to come back, come or go back to a former position”

from Old French retorner “turn back, turn round, return”

in Modern French retourner – RE-TORN-eh

Re-torn, maybe, as if to be torn from one place or the other?

So that when she says “You’re back” as in “You’ve returned”

do either of us consider that from which I’ve been torn…

or, alternately, if I about to be torn again into the tiny pieces

inevitable when one re-opens one’s heart?

I smile in that way that makes other people feel good…

knowing I have left a part of me behind, back there,

placeholding who I was — or who I thought came next —

knowing I cannot go back, but I cannot either return.

I am for the time being, time being what it is, here,

re-torn from everything I thought I knew, again.

Poem ©2019, Jen Payne. National Poetry Month #8 and NaPoWriMo poem. #NaPoWriMo. Pro tempore is a Latin phrase which best translates to “for the time being” in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a locum tenens (placeholder) in the absence of….For more poetry by Jen Payne, purchase a copy of Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind! BUY THE BOOK TODAY!

7 – Walking Destiny’s Fine Line

We didn’t mention it that day,
the limp, the odd drag of the left foot
its sound like an after-thought…

Second thoughts now
and too much time passed
to make a difference

She never listened anyway
and who was I to
preach or teach or cajole?

We each bear our own weight
carry with us the things
we can’t put down and

after a while they just break us
one day or the next, this fragile vessel
cracks or tips or teeters off the edge

breaks into a thousand pieces

Our destiny is all of that, right there,
following us around with an odd echo drag
few of us ever, ever mention.

Image: Feet, Vincent van Gogh. Poem ©2019, Jen Payne. National Poetry Month #7 and NaPoWriMo poem. #NaPoWriMo. For more poetry by Jen Payne, purchase a copy of Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind! BUY THE BOOK TODAY!

6 – This Time

If I am gone when you wake

from your dusty nightmares

and moonlit ghosts I never knew

check beneath your pillow

I’ve tucked my heart there

for long, safe keeping —

pay no mind to the leaving,

I’ve found my solace

with the watches

in your top drawer

their time no more squandered

than our turn, turn, turn.

Poem ©2019, Jen Payne. National Poetry Month #6 and NaPoWriMo poem. #NaPoWriMo. For more poetry by Jen Payne, purchase a copy of Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind! BUY THE BOOK TODAY!

5 – Facing West at 4pm and Reading Anne Lamott

Jesus was a rabbit,
schooled by rabbits,
who thought like rabbits.

Rabbits upon being asked a question by a disciple usually answered with a paradoxical inquiry or a story, like:

Does seeing the light mean being blinded from the truth?

or

If we are made in god’s image and we are animals, is it wrong to assert that Jesus was a rabbit? (Discuss.)

or

Is this mondegreen of “rabbis” sacrilegious or simply a chance to see the Mann who was likewise Blinded by the Light?

Poem ©2019, Jen Payne. Misread text from Anne Lamott’s Almost Everything: Notes on Hope. Thank you Anne Lamott and Manfred Mann, can’t get either of you out of my head today! National Poetry Month #5 and NaPoWriMo poem. #NaPoWriMo. For more poetry by Jen Payne, purchase a copy of Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind! BUY THE BOOK TODAY!

4 – can’t you spare a little missing?

The one who shares your bed went AWOL

 

for a time, so you reclaimed territory,

 

embraced her empty spaces,

 

shored up the boundaries again

 

for the border well-guarded against breach;

 

perhaps this late invasion is too much or

 

not enough to combat ghosts of battles

 

fought long before she went missing.

 

But look into her eyes when she returns,

 

wonder: who among you is more wounded?

 

Poem ©2019, Jen Payne. National Poetry Month #4 and NaPoWriMo poem. #NaPoWriMo. For more poetry by Jen Payne, purchase a copy of Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind! BUY THE BOOK TODAY!

3 – Yoga

the

bend

stretch

breath

deep breath

the sanskrit chant

to unknown gods

who move this body

this soft tired body

through poses

and prayers

through storms

and love

through loss

and joy, too,

yes that too

sometimes here

in pose

and breath

joy.

Poem ©2019, Jen Payne. National Poetry Month #3 and NaPoWriMo poem. #NaPoWriMo. For more poetry by Jen Payne, purchase a copy of Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind! BUY THE BOOK TODAY!

2 – Naysayers

In high school, it was a poem about a boy that changed everything;
teacher said it wasn’t universal — not the poem itself, but my writing
made me wonder at the meaning of poems for years,
filter everything through a fine sieve that didn’t let much pass.

In college, it was a photograph of a grassy slope shrouded in morning fog,
I liked its solitude, but teacher said it needed a deer Right Here
and left a thumbprint on the photo print that never did wipe off.
No matter, she said the work wasn’t sellable, really, so what’s a mark?

Just yesterday, he called this poem boring and predictable;
teacher said it lacked some outstanding factor mere mortals cannot detect,
apparently kin to gods, he was too high up to see the heart of the matter,
so I wrote it anyway, made a mark and sent it off to the Universe…so there!

Poem ©2019, Jen Payne. Image: Fingerprint Landscape, Saul Steinberg. National Poetry Month #2 and NaPoWriMo poem. #NaPoWriMo. For more poetry by Jen Payne, purchase a copy of Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind! BUY THE BOOK TODAY!

1 – Irony

Black bird in the sky

Follows my wayward path, makes

me: as the crow flies

Poem ©2019, Jen Payne. Image: Crow with Silver Spoon, Alex Colville. National Poetry Month #1 and NaPoWriMo poem. #NaPoWriMo. For more poetry by Jen Payne, purchase a copy of Evidence of Flossing: What We Leave Behind! BUY THE BOOK TODAY!

April Is National Poetry Month!

National Poetry Month was inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996. Over the years, it has become the largest literary celebration in the world with schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers, and poets celebrating poetry’s vital place in our culture. Click here to learn more.

Here at Random Acts of Writing, I’ll be writing a poem a day at part of NaPoWriMo…or attempting to, at least, muse willing. Join me? Or check out these other…

30 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month

  1. Request a free copy of the National Poetry Month poster until mid-April; posters can be purchased for $5.00 each in our Poets shop thereafter (while supplies list).
  2. Sign up for Poem-a-Day and read a poem each morning.
  3. Sign up for Teach This Poem, a weekly series for teachers.
  4. Memorize a poem.
  5. Create an anthology of your favorite poems on Poets.org.
  6. Encourage a young person to participate in the Dear Poet project.
  7. Buy a book of poetry from your local bookstore.
  8. Review these concrete examples of how poetry matters in the United States today.
  9. Learn more about poets and poetry events in your state.
  10. Ask your governor or mayor for a proclamation in support of National Poetry Month.
  11. Attend a poetry reading at a local university, bookstore, cafe, or library.
  12. Read a poem at an open mic. It’s a great way to meet other writers in your area and find out about your local poetry writing community.
  13. Start a poetry reading group.
  14. Write an exquisite corpse poem with friends.
  15. Chalk a poem on the sidewalk.
  16. Deepen your daily experience by reading Edward Hirsch’s essay “How to Read a Poem.”
  17. Ask the United States Post Office to issue more stamps celebrating poets.
  18. Celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day today! The idea is simple: select a poem you love, carry it with you, then share it with coworkers, family, and friends.
  19. Read about different poetic forms.
  20. Read about poems titled “poem.”
  21. Watch a poetry movie.
  22. Subscribe to American Poets magazine or a small press poetry journal.
  23. Watch Rachel Eliza Griffiths’s P.O.P (Poets on Poetry) videos.
  24. Watch or read Carolyn Forche’s talk “Not Persuasion, But Transport: The Poetry of Witness.”
  25. Recreate a poet’s favorite food or drink by following his or her recipe.
  26. Read or listen to Mark Doty’s talk “Tide of Voices: Why Poetry Matters Now.”
  27. Read Allen Ginsberg’s classic essay about Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass.”
  28. Sign up for a poetry class or workshop.
  29. Get ready for Mother’s Day by making a card featuring a line of poetry.
  30. Read the first chapter of Muriel Rukeyer’s inspiring book The Life of Poetry.
Poster and Text from http://www.poets.org. #NaPoWriMo, #PoetryDaily

It’s time for NaPoWriMo! Are you ready?

In celebration of National Poetry Month in April, poets near and far are gearing up for NaPoWriMo, challenging themselves to write 30 poems in 30 days.

It sounds daunting, but it’s actually a lot of fun! In a weird, geeky poet sort of way. This will be my fifth year in the ring — 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 — and I am psyched. Wanna join me?

Visit the NaPoWriMo website for more information, check out participating poets’ sites, and/or submit your own site so folks can follow along!