A rhyme in time
Poetic inspiration for Robert Pinsky, a three-time United States Poet Laureate and Boston University professor of English, comes from "great works of art."
"It's not unlike what makes a 3-year-old at a wedding begin to dance when the band starts up and the grown-ups begin to dance," said Pinsky, in an interview last month before giving a reading on the BU campus.
This month's observance of National Poetry Month has advocates for verse and rhyme aiming to bring more people to the dance, so to speak, even if they just want to sit and watch.
There are some local opportunities this week to participate in this year's national celebration of poetry.
Eastern Washington University's annual GET LIT! Festival takes place from April 13 to 17. The theme of this year's festival is "Telling the American Story."
There are literature-related readings, panels, lectures and workshops scheduled at locations throughout Spokane during the festival days. Many of the events are free, some charge a fee. Visit the GET LIT! website, http://outreach.ewu.edu/getlit/, for a complete calendar of festival happenings.
A bit of GET LIT! will happen in Coeur d'Alene on the North Idaho College campus on April 15, when a panel of authors comes together to discuss "Finding Themes in Our Life Story." The workshop will detail how authors Sam Kean, Ruth McLaughlin and Brenda Peterson took their own themes - science, family history, faith and nature - and wrote them into true stories.
The panel discussion takes place from noon to 1:30 p.m. in NIC's Molstead Library Todd Hall. It is free and open to the public.
For those who just want to feel like a part of National Poetry Month, the American Academy of Poets is encouraging people to participate in national Poem in Your Pocket Day on April 14.
The idea is simple: select a poem you love then carry it with you to share with co-workers, family, and friends.
Of course, you can always share your own poetry, and other literary endeavors, right here.
Send your Writers Corner submissions to Maureen Dolan, mdolan@cdapress.com.
We prefer e-mail submissions, and we ask that you limit the length of your stories and poems. Please include your hometown with your submission.
You can send hard-copies by mail to Maureen Dolan at The Press, 201 Second St., Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 83814.
And now, more from our local writers.
Scorching fire of golden light,
in the heaven burning bright,
the sun floods the clouds to fire,
over the pastures and over the wire.
From the eyes of angels in glow,
across the sky fiery fingers flow,
setting the snow to furnace hot,
like a racing chariot, over the water it shot.
Light overwhelms the earth, conquering the sky,
it burns in one's heart, to light his eyes.
- Patsy Ann Kurrelmeyer, Kellogg
The schoolers they pressed for a levy
They hit us hot, hard and heavy
They sang their old songs
To the kids it belongs
We caved and sold our new chevy
There was a sweet miss named Maureen
Her in-box could never get clean
We filled it with mail
She wished us in jail
But we didn't intend to be mean
In Wisconsin the Gov had a spine
He was chosen to hold to the line
The unions went ape
They accused him of rape
But the folks said you're doing fine
A guy had his eye on this miss
He dreamed of a heavenly kiss
She said,"Oh no never
No matter how clever
You'll have to do better than this"
- Philip Membury, Coeur d'Alene
It's been a month since the surgery
and the bills are piled high -
mountains of paperwork reach
to the sky.
Some have a grace period,
I will keep for a while
I am thinking by not it
is time for a pill -
Here comes a nurse - with
a pill for the bill.
I hope it's a red one - I
really don't care - for the
pill I am grateful - so
I gladly will share -
Will it be my demise
if the pill doesn't pay -
I think not, my friend, I'll
be on my way.
- Virginia Burnet, Coeur d' Alene
CAT TALE
Catapulting into trouble, Merow now zooms across the room,
next collapsing innocently, virtue feigned to escape his doom.
Epitome of arrogance, this now catatonic critter
with unmeasured indolence will likely soon be spreading litter.
Radiating insouciance, this catastrophe impending,
looks angelic when he desires - feline chaos unending.
Why do I endure this tyranny?
'cause I belong to him, not him to me!
- Karen Parrish Norskog, Post Falls
Editor's note: The author of "Cat Tale" tells Press Writers Corner that she named her pet "Merow," after becoming frustrated with not being able to come up with a name. Eventually, she asked the cat what his name was and he replied "Merow."
SPARED OF THEE
Like fallen snow
My heart lays slain.
Since you have gone
I now know pain.
I've stifled thoughts
That cannot grow.
Our friendship died
Because you had
A chance to know
This one, my friend.
So pretty she
Shall your time spend.
How lucky I
Shall surely be -
Because of her
I'm spared of thee.
- Ramona Hollenbeck, Pinehurst
FLOWERS MEET THE SUN
The sun rises on a bright spring day
And life begins a-new
The flowers that we love
All bloom for me and you
Now the snow has gone away
And the crocus is the first
To push its head through the earth
To start the flowers' birth
And tulips gaily lift their heads
In a lovely sea of red
They fill our hearts with joy
A lilly bows its head
The roses of many colors bloom
Their fragrance fills the air
To tell the friends we love
How much we really care
Forget-me-nots send a message clear
To tell those we hold dear
How much they mean to us
Today and through the year
Marigolds hold deer at bay
When they come to eat and play
We love their graceful manner
But must keep them away
Pansies fill the flower beds
Along with other plants
Marigolds again we use
To save them from abuse
The rose of sharon blooms
Puts other blooms to shame
Their beauty shows why they
Really deserve the fame
Winter will soon come again
And all the flowers fade
But in the spring they will appear
So life begins again don't fear
And once again the flowers
Meet the sun's bright rays
And make us ready
For summer's golden days
- Bill Hill