PO-EMotion #7- Acceptance

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.

Today's emotion is acceptance.

"Acceptance"

Eight years old
stubby fingers
peel the card
golden brown,
scrolling medieval letters,
border of turquoise and maroon.
from under the glass
on my mother's walnut dresser.

God grant me 
the serenity
to accept the things 
I cannot change
courage 
to change the things I can
and wisdom
to know the difference.

Mama, what does this mean?
"Someday you will understand,"
she says.
"Someday
you will understand."

And she takes the card
from my hands
and slides it back under the glass.
"Leave it there,"
she says.
"I need it."

Half a century later
I need that prayer too.

But I need a few more lines.

God, help me to trust
that all is good
when life 
and my dreams
are on two 
completely different
opposite moving
trajectories.

And grant me the patience
to accept 
when change 
comes more slowly
than the Colorado River
carving the Grand Canyon
over all those
millions of years.

Most of all, God,
grant me 
joyendurancejoy
to smile and laugh
past the never ending 
sorrow ache
in the pit of my soul.

(C) Carol Wilcox, 2015

PO-EMotions #6- Sadness

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.

Today's emotion is sadness.

"Sadness"

once she was a
barely tethered red kite
dancing twirling soaring
daring life's winds
to change her perspective
today she wonders
whether a tangled heap
of sticks and paper
will ever find
blue skies
or joy's tailwinds
again

Carol Wilcox, (c) 2015

**************

For a while, this was part of the first poem, but then the kites and the mountains just didn't feel like they made sense.

"Sadness"

once she knew joy
but now she trudges
up a lonely rocky
never ending
mountain
lifting her eyes
only long enough
to gingerly search
for the next foothold.

(C) Carol Wilcox, 2015

PO-EMotion #5- Disgust

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.

Today's emotion is disgust.


"Disgusting!"

Gummy goo,
Stepping in poo,

Hair in food,

Folks being rude,

Snotty noses,
Hair on toes-es,

Flies on fruit,
Dogs' dead loot,

Tossed cigarette butts
Squished animal guts

EWWW!
Disgusting!

(C) Carol Wilcox, 2015

PO-EMotions #4

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.

Today's emotion is anger.


"Dear Mr. Activist"

I watch
as you organize protests
speak at workshops
attend city council meetings
post on social media

about racial profiling
how wrong the police are
how black men are not getting a fair deal

I totally agree with you
I wish it was different
and I want you to keep fighting

but sometimes
I wish you would remember
that the smallest things
matter most

I wish you would come
to my school
and sit next to
that little kindergarten guy
you know, the one with the chocolate skin
and sparkly brown eyes
who has never even met his daddy
you could read him a story
he would love it
if you showed up every week
or even a couple of times a month

I wish you would
hold an after school meeting
and pass out belts
to our fifth graders
the ones whose pants
are just beginning to sag
maybe teach them
how to tie a tie
before graduation
because it's a whole lot easier
to learn those things
from a living breathing
human being
than by watching
a youtube video

I wish you would show
at the neighborhood basketball court
you know, the one across from the post office
where the middle schoolers hang out
from sun-up to sun-down
you could shoot hoops
maybe even organize a team
teach the kids what it means
to work as a team,
to pass instead of shoot
to commit to showing up at practice
to persevere when your team
is losing by a whole lot
help those adolescents understand
that not many black men
are professional athletes
and that most of them who are
got there by a whole lot
of practice and hard work
and they took care of their business
at school too

I wish you would invite
a high school kid
to follow you through a day
or eat a meal at your table
maybe hang out with you on a weekend
those guys need to know
how a real man treats his wife
and that manhood involves
a whole lot more
than hunting down enough coins
to buy your next joint
and acting like a crazed animal
in a pen of females in heat

dear mr. activist
i totally agree with you
that things need to change
but sometimes
I wish you would remember
that the smallest things
matter most

 Carol Wilcox, (c) 2015

#3- PO-EMotions- Surprise

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. 

Today's emotion is surprise.


"Surprise"

In winter
I am surprised by
the tree's character
strong precise lines and
bare branch symmetry
an occasional bird's nest
tells family stories
and reminds that
new life will come

in winter
when all
that covers
and hides
is stripped
away
new tree beauty is revealed

And I wonder
if humans
live similarly

during life's winters
when all
that usually covers and hides
is stripped away
can you see
strength of character
new life

is new beauty revealed?

(C) Carol Wilcox, 2015

And today is Friday, so that means poetry all over the web. You can go to Amy Ludwig VanderWater's blog, the POEM FARM, for lots more poetry.

#2- PO-EMotions: Fear

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. 

Today's emotion is fear.  All day yesterday, I jotted scraps and images that came to me. 


"fear"

every year
a little one hangs back
whimper crying
clinging to mama's hand
and I gently peel the two apart
reassure mom (who is also a little teary)

here there will be
books
watercolors
good friends
and recess

school
is not such a scary place
after all

Carol Wilcox, (c) 2015

The back story: For the past few years, I have been a literacy coach, mostly at elementary schools. On the first day of school, pretty much every year, I am assigned to kindergarten, where I spend the first hour or two consoling those little guys who are not quite sure about the school thing. Usually we become good friends, and by the time they hit second or third grade, we laugh about that first day of kindergarten.

********

"Fear"

that voice 
called fear
whisper shouts
in my ear

but what if…
and what if…
or what if…
even so, what if…

and I have to keep 
reminding that 
loud loud loud 
quiet voice,

"Peace!
Be still
and know that 
HE is God."

(c) Carol Wilcox, 2015

****************
And then a tanka (Japanese poem, five lines, syllables: 5-7-5-7-7)

"To my boys"

Often fear looks like
anger loud red hot breaking
easier to rage
than to acknowledge weakness
or holes grief has torn in soul

(C) Carol Wilcox, 2015

To read Mary Lee's, and terrific poems by several others, go to YEAR OF READING  or POETREPOSITORY

#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