National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month, so from time to time this month, I'll talk about this lovely medium. Maya Angelou says that "poetry is music written for the human voice" and, long before we had the printed word, poems were spoken in evening gatherings as a way to share and remember some special event.

The lilt and rhythm of poetry is pleasant to our ears. I think that's why many of us, but most especially, children, like rhyming poetry better than any other kind. However, good rhyming poetry - the type that escapes being close to doggerel - is hard to write and most poets today seem to lack the skill and discipline to do it well. It's far easier to write free verse.
If you want to read some poetry this month, you can go to http://www.poets.org/ and sign up for a "poem-a-day" for this month. I have. It will be interesting to see what we get.

Meanwhile, I love this poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay. It seems to fit the days of spring.

Afternoon on a Hill

I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.
I will look at cliffs and clouds
With quiet eyes,
Watch the wind bow down the grass,
And the grass rise.
And when lights begin to show
Up from the town,
I will mark which must be mine, And then start down!