#1- PO-EMotions-Anticipation

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