April is National Poetry Month. Every year, my dear friend (and poet Extraordinaire), Mary Lee Hahn chooses a theme, and writes a poem each day. Mary Lee blogs and posts her poems at two different places- YEAR OF READING and a fabulous new poetry blog POETREPOSITORY
This year, Mary Lee has chosen the theme, "PO-EMotions," and will be writing about a different emotion each day. She promises, "This year, I will write a poem a day that either evokes an emotion, or uses an emotion word in the title or body of the poem." If you want to read more about the emotions she will be touching on, go here.
For the past several years, I have joined Mary Lee in writing, as have several others. Here's my first poem. To read Mary Lee's poem, and poems by several others, go to YEAR OF READING or POETREPOSITORY.
"Anticipation"
Summer hike
I stand at the bottom
of the mountain
looking up
the gravelly trail
knowing there will be
switchbacks and skree,
hard hills and heavy breathing
water breaks and photo opportunities
things hard and glorious
are about to begin.
The night before
the first day of school
I wake again and again
Envisioning our
oh-so-important first hour,
days spent reading,
the difficulties of long division,
heart aches and hurt feelings
fears and family breakups,
triumphs and tragedies,
wonderings and worries,
I am afraid and excited
things hard and glorious
are about to begin
I gaze at my friend's belly
rounded and full
only a few more days
until she meets
the little guy
who has spent nine months
dancing and growing inside her
she is excited about parenting
first steps and family memories
bedtime stories and blue ribbons
proud moments and prom dates
and I wonder
if I should tell her
things hard and glorious
are about to begin.
(C) Carol Wilcox, April 2015
6 comments:
I love these images of anticipation. They bring back so many memories from my own experience for each of them.
The connections you made here are wonderful, Carol, all true of these, among other "hard and glorious things". I hope to spend time with Mary Lee's prompts sometime-will look for your poems too!
You chose different moments where anticipation waits, too -- I rhymed, you elaborated! Nice!
So much to anticipate! I love how you repeated things hard and glorious are about to begin. So true on all three moments.
Anticipation indeed. Loved this piece. Great connections to that anticipating feeling.
Carol,
There are three moments full of anticipation. You really helped to show how promise and challenge are always part of our journey. Your last line really spoke to me, "things hard and glorious
are about to begin." I guess it is because I sit on the side of parenting where I have seen both, and am coming to realize will continue to see both sides.
Looking forward to following your monthlong journey. I'm hoping commenting will be easier this month. :o) I was a bit overwhelmed in March.
Cathy
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