NaPoMo, April 7

A lovely tanka by J.Zimmerman for today.

thirty years later

holding hands at breakfast

coffee weaker

pancakes smaller

but the grip still strong

J.Zimmerman

NaPoMo, April 6

Maybe, just maybe, you haven't read this poem by modernist poet Williams Carlos Williams, before?

The Red Wheelbarrow

so much depends
upon 



a red wheel
barrow



glazed with rain
water 




beside the white
chickens

Williams Carlos Williams 

You can keep on wondering about why "so much depends upon", but ah,the image!!

And just in case you're interested in a little more, here's a link:

http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/536/the-red-wheelbarrow-dissecting-the-minimal-masterpiece

NaPoMo, April 5

An endless number of haiku and tanka have been written about cancer and chemo. But, for me, the poem featured here today, must be one of the very best among them, because of its understatement.

her note mentions

the blueberries blossoming

and the lettuce coming up

also, in passing,

chemotherapy

John Stevenson

NaPoMo, April 4

I bring you today this tanka by Beverly George.

this blue balloon--
how far has it travelled

to bob down in my garden?

on it, love from mummy

to Wll...age five...in heaven

Beverly George

NaPoMo, April 3

A slightly longer poem by Kamala Das, a prominent Indian poetess who passed away a few years ago, is the featured poem today.
And to think I've discovered her only recently (though I've known about her always), because of a dfisparaging remark made by somebody.

I Shall Some Day

I shall some day leave,leave the cocoon

You bulit around me with morning tea,

Love- words flung from doorways and of course

Your tired lust. I shall some day take

Wings, fly around, as often petals

Do when free in air, and you, dear one,

Just the sad remnant of a root, must

Lie behind, sans pride, on double-beds

And grieve. But I shall some day return,losing

Nearly all, hurt by wind, sun and rain,

Too hurt by fierce happiness to want

A further jaunt or a further spell

Of freedom, and I shall some day see

My world, defleshed, de-veined, de-blooded,

Just a skeletal thing,then shut my

Eyes and take refuge, if nowhere else,

Here in your nest of familiar scorn...

Kamala Das

Mandatory warning: 

I know my poet friends need no warning, but for others who might read these posts, all the poems featured this month are only poems I adore and by no means a reflection on or connected with my personal life.

NaPoMo, April 2

For the second day of NaPoMo, I bring you a delightful tanka by Pamela Babusci.

giving

back the ring

taking

back my heart

April rain

Pamela A. Babusci

Tell me, could you hear the sound of rain here?

NaPoMo, April 1

April might have gotten a bad name when T.S.Eliot called it the cruellest month, but April is also called the National Poetry Month (NaPoMo), and though the trend originated in America, now it is observed almost worldwide, when poetry is celebrated by poets, readers and booksellers especially
in various ways. Many also do participate in NaPoWriMo (National poetry writing month) by writing a poem everyday throughout April.Since my own poeticity has reached a new nadir, I've decided to celebrate NaPoMo by posting a favourite poem of mine (by others) each day here on the blog.At least I can do that.

So I start today with this tanka by Amelia Fielden.

no special date

just another breakfast

when I pour

cornflakes into a bowl

and miss Dad bitterly

Amelia Fielden