5 Pandemic Poems Just For You

 Howdy, Campers and happy Poetry Friday! (the PF host link is below)

The topic this round, which Esther suggested in late June, was Writing (Or Teaching)-Related Activities We’re Getting Back To As Things Open Again.

So far, four TeachingAuthors have created terrific posts on this topic, and already the sands have shifted.Esther's (July 16th) is euphoric (including an empty frame in which she expected to post of photo of Carmela, Esther and me at a Chicago restaurant), Zeena's (July 23rd) is about her new committment as a teacher of 4- and 5-year-olds (it includes a video of Zeena book talking picture books);  Bobbi's (July 30th) is hope-filled--with a terrific resources list!), Mary Ann's (August 6th) is wonderfully written as always. But hope?...not so much. 

And me? I'm grumpy today.

Me, slaying the topic we'd hoped to write about

The last few months in our house have been overshadowed by STUFF. Towards the end of April, zombies from the apocalyspe stopped by to chomp on my foot. (The medical diagnosis was staph infection, but I know it was zombies.)

Which meant I couldn't hike. Or run. Or walk. Or go to a wedding in Chicago and have lunch in person with Esther and Carmela. My pup Eli was also casuality: he couldn't hike or run or walk without me. 

Our muscles melted.

After umpteen weeks of varying antibiotics, my doctors found one that worked and I got better...

...just in time to drive my very sick husband to the ER. He was admitted to the hospital; it was scary. Now he's home. We're lucky. He'll be okay. 

Whew. 

Okay, I just thought of something that's hopeful: Like so many wonderful writers in the Poetry Friday community, I never stop writing a poem a day. (Yesterday ~ even on a very grumpy day ~ I wrote my 4,141st poem in a row)

And so I offer you five pandemic poems and the inspiration behind each, for your entertainment:

1. March 27, 2020

TEXTING IN THESE STRANGE TIMES ~ a found poem 
by April Halprin Wayland

APRIL:
Hey, Tom! Are you up for a walk tomorrow?

If I met you at your house

and we drove separately

and stayed six feet apart?

And how about a third person,

Joyce? Would that be too much?

 (I would ask her to drive separately

and meet us at your house also.)

TOM:
Okay strange times.

Put this exchange in a time capsule.

===================
Inspiration: This is a word for word text conversation with my friend Tom. We ultimately didn't walk...times had changed by the time Tom read my text. (At least an hour had gone by.)
=====================
2. April 4, 2020

LOVING MAMA-MADE MASK ~ a semi-found poem
by April Halprin Wayland

Waves of

hand marbled fabric:

 

three layers, mostly cotton—

reusable, washable,

 

to brighten your day.

Line dry.

 

The scare will pass.

And we'll all have masks.
=================
Inspiration: My friend Tom in the first poem has a wife named JoAnn who mailed us two beautiful masks with a note. I gleaned it for words around which to form a poem.  I did add words, though, so technically it's not a Found Poem.

================
3. May 9, 2020

ZOOM ~ in four words 
by April Halprin Wayland

Drapes drawn

pearls on
=================
Inspiration: When I started Zooming, the only place in our house with appropriate lighting was a tiny corner of my office in front of a bookshelf, with the drapes drawn, a floor lamp on one side and the overhead light on. Also, of course pearls!
================

4. May 21, 2020 

POEM-MAKING
(previously published in this post, its title is from the book of the same name by Myra Cohn Livingston)
by April Halprin Wayland

It's a kind of art—

lit by air

and light. Kept in a vault,

 

it can only chase it's own tail.

So blow on it, gently—this is vital.

It's yours; invent your own ritual.
=================================
Inspiration:

That day I wanted to write an In One Word Poem. I choose a word that had become tiresome: VIRTUAL.

Below are the 18 words I decided to play with from the 65 words offered by Wordmaker. I used the six of these:  it, lit, air, art, rut, rail, tail, liar, vial, vail, rival, trial, vault, viral, vital, trail, ultra, ritual

One of the wonders of this form is that I can take a word that makes me sick and come up with a poem that's kind. Or glowing.
================
5. July 19, 2021

TIP  
by April Halprin Wayland

Hey, little girl,

let the day unfurl

like a light-weight blanket.

At the close of day,

be sure

and thank it.
=====================
Inspiration: I believe I heard the words "let the day unfurl" in a morning meditation on Insight Timer
====================
poems © 2021 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved

So. 

I've inadvertently ended on a note of hope. Oh, well. I tried to stay grumpy. You've gotta give me points for that.

One more thing: if you know anyone who's interested in taking my 10-week course, Picture Book 1 through the UCLA Extension Writers' Program, please tell them to sign up now...this class is limited to 15 students.

Thank you for stopping by today, Campers!

Many thanks to Christie for hosting this week's PF
at Wondering and Wandering

posted with a teeny tiny bit of hope and a bushel of love by April Halprin Wayland while Eli rests on top of his two favorite toys (the blue one is our kitty's)

Three Poetry-Writing Titles for Your Bookshelf (and a Poem Inspired by Them)

Happy Poetry Friday! I share an original poem at the end of this post, along with a link to this week's terrific poetry-related Wednesday Writing Workout from Kimberly Hutmacher, in case you missed it. (The post includes a giveaway of Kimberly's nonfiction book Your Nose Never Stops Growing and Other Cool Human Body Facts (Capstone Press).

Today I'd like to share three poetry-writing titles for your reference. I was inspired by Esther's post last Friday, in which she shared five new titles of interest to aspiring writers of all ages, but especially young writers. While the books I'll discuss today are not new releases, two of them are new to me.

I mentioned last August that I've been reading and writing poetry as I work on my own poetry project. I've also been reading books on poetry writing. I started out by rereading Ralph Fletcher's Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem from the Inside Out (HarperCollins). Even though the book is intended for grades 5-9, I find it helpful for my own writing, and I find the examples from young poets quite inspiring.

I read a second book that approaches poetry "from the inside out:" Sandford Lyne's Writing Poetry from the Inside Out: Finding Your Voice through the Craft of Poetry (Sourcebooks). While the book's focus is poetry-writing, I think it would benefit all sorts of writers. This is not a book that addresses rhyme, meter, or form. Instead, it's about how to open our awareness to the world around us. As Lyne says:

"Writing poetry is about seeing patterns, seeing resemblances, seeing symbols and metaphors; it is about seeing connections. Writing poetry is about a deeper appreciation and deeper discernment, about respecting our own individuality and the individuality of others. Writing poetry is about economy, about bringing order out of chaos, about fine-tuning the aesthetic sense; it is about nurturing our sensitivity to beauty and preserving the beauty of the world."

After reading the book, I researched Lyne to see what else he'd written and was very sad to learn that he died in 2007, the same year this book was published. I found a lovely tribute to him online that talks of how he shared his delight in poetry with thousands of children and teachers. He compiled two anthologies of poems by some of the children he taught: Soft Hay Will Catch You: Poems by Young People (Simon & Schuster, 2004) and Ten- Second Rainshowers: Poems by Young People (Simon & Schuster, 1996). He used some of those poems as examples in Writing Poetry from the Inside Out, too.
 
Lyne's book includes a writing exercise called poem-sketching that's been helping me develop my poetry muscles. The poem I share below came out of that process.

The poetry-writing book I'm currently reading, The Poetry Home Repair Manual: Practical Advice for Beginning Poets (University of Nebraska Press) by Ted Kooser, was included in the list of "Suggested Reading" in Lyne's book. Although it was published in 2005, Kooser's book is new to me. I'm finding it both inspiring and, as the subtitle says, filled with lots of practical advice.

Kooser says:

"What is most difficult for a poet is to find the time to read and write when there are so many distractions, like making a living and caring for others. But the time set aside for being a poet, even if only for a few moments each day, can be wonderfully happy, full of joyous, solitary discovery."

I've been experiencing some truly "joyous" moments playing with poetry the last few months. As I mentioned above, the poem I'm sharing today was inspired by Lyne's poem-sketching process. (You can read more about the process here and here.) The word group that prompted my poem consisted of "poems, flock, wings, fly."

Inspired by April's willingness to share her poetry-writing process, I give you first an early draft of the poem:

        Flocking Poems 

     Poems flock to me
     like migrating birds.
     Their wings rustle
     in the distance.
     I wait, smiling,
     expectant,
     as they fly nearer and nearer.
     Finally,
     they alight on this table
     waiting to be heard
     and fed.
  Copyright 2019 Carmela A. Martino 

Image by Gerhard Gellinger from Pixabay

You can see I used all the words in the initial draft, but some were edited out in the revision process. Here's the current, much shorter, version.

       Flocking Poems 

     Poems flock to me
     like migrating birds.
     They alight on the page
     waiting to be heard.
  Copyright 2019 Carmela A. Martino 

Not sure I'm satisfied with this one yet. I'd love to know your thoughts on both poems. I plan to include this post in this week's Poetry Friday round-up over at Elizabeth Steinglass's blog. When you're done there, don't forget to read Kimberly Hutmacher's poetry-related Wednesday Writing Workout and enter our giveaway of her nonfiction book Your Nose Never Stops Growing and Other Cool Human Body Facts (Capstone Press).

Remember to always Write with Joy!
Carmela