Although I’m not clear on who and how folks decide to give a month a theme, I accept that April is Poetry Month. I love it when a month’s theme simultaneously challenges and inspires me. I haven’t written a lot of poems in my life, but the 2020 pandemic helped me reconsider some of my thoughts, habits, and hobbies. I signed up for too many online courses. One taught by the poet Mark Nepo nudged me to try poetry again. Recently in late March I honored the year anniversary of my father’s death followed by his early April funeral. And yes. Dad liked to read poetry aloud while little me sat on his lap. We laughed and cried together. It was truly the best of times for us. So yep…
…Here’s to Dad by Beth Jaffe
We sat looking over the ledge
where the sidewalk ended
and A Light in the Attic
burned away the day’s rough edge.
The pictures captivated.
The words tickled.
They transported us
to a world of flying shoes
and poems written downside up.
He tried to entice me
with patient valiant effort
on to the next level
where poems for grown-ups
took serious beyond my grasp.
I was old enough to know
he was trying to teach me
something I didn’t want to see.
Decades later
less than a year before his passing
so many boxes of books carted away
to too many places to say.
I gathered one for myself
hoping to finally find
the lost lesson in the
mature poems
my young ears rejected.
Without reading a page yet
I can enjoy the lift of knowing
weighty words are often wings
for souls savoring the little things.
***
Thanks for being with me here!
For a poetry reading video with yours truly check out Where Angels Play
For a poem with a photo and some inspirational links check out Trying to Get to Shore