27/30 Poem A Day Challenge & Poetry Friday

April 27, 2018

These days I’m connecting up with Kidlitosphere Central for Poetry Friday. Today’s host is Irene Latham at Live Your Poem.

I have been reading poetry for as long as I can remember. Before I could read it, my mother used to recite Wordsworth to us. I started this poem earlier this month after finishing up a couple of powerful books of poetry back to back. I realize as I post this, that I should have included Dr Seuss in here as one of my first poetry mentors, but for today, here is my homage to at least some of my unwitting mentors.





under the influence

if only
i were a real poet
i would write you a love poem,
but the those poems
have already been written
decade by Amy Lowell
somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond
by e.e. cummings


if only
i were a real poet
i could sing
dragons into existence
like Ogden Nash
and make you laugh
and happy to be me
with Dennis Lee


if only
i were a real poet
I could write words that bite
with sharp wit
my resumé
like Dorothy Parker's,
would give you reasons for living


if only
i were a real poet
like Sylvia Plath
scrivening sentences 
into strands of black diamonds 
glimmering and glittering
as they slit into bare skin


if only
i were a real poet
punching out poems and
staccatoed sentences
like those of 
Lawrence Ferlinghetti 
and his cronies 
who first made me 
fall in love 
with words


if only
i were a real poet
i could show you what it's like
to be inside and outside
at the same time
and how poetry is discovered
but Marilyn Nelson
has already been there


if only
i were a real poet
perhaps I could
wrangle words
like Bao Phi
who writes weather poems
about raindrops with more humanity
and promise
than many people I know


if only
i were a real poet
i might write
about being invisible
and under attack 
at the same time
but Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
has already wordsmithed them


if only
i were a real poet
like El Jones and Shane Koyczan
I would pen passionate
spoken word sonnets
of truth and activism
and wake you up


if only
i were a real poet
i could whisper words
like the best of them
and you would see the world
how i see it

if only
i were a real poet



Previous Posts for 2018 Poem A Day Challenge

1. Easter Sunday Rumination on Eggs
2. Tulips
3. Untitled
4. Waiting
5. Truce
6. Thaumaturgy
7. Untitled dodoitsu

8. To Do List
9. Anniversary
10. Tribulation
11. Story Is Who We Are
12. Fears
13. Another Poem
14. Morning Headache
15. Love
16. Greg
17. Gift
18. Ceremony
19. Waiting
20. Storm
21. Ada

22. Haiku
23. Haiku
24. things

25. Funeral
26. Light

21 comments:

  1. I admire the research into this beautiful poem, Cheriee. It is fantastic. I love seeing the pictures and looking at the links you gave us too. I think you are a poet, and your journey there has been a lovely one!

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    1. Thank you Linda. I'm not sure when a person can say they are a poet and you just call yourself a scribbler. This April poem a day challenge certainly makes me wonder.

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    2. Oh Linda B, I'm very sure that you're a real, not only real, but extremely talented, poet. This is a lovely poem/tribute.

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  2. I love this poem. Your words echo my thoughts about writing poetry. A favorite image is "scrivening sentences." Sylvia Path is one of my favorite poets, and you have named some of my favorites.

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    1. Thank you Glenda. Sylvia Plath has always been one of my favourites too, but she isn't always easy to read.

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  3. Great idea, to incorporate what you love about your poet-mentors into stanza tributes! And I love the clever title. :-) (If you write poems, you can call yourself a poet...)

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    1. Thanks Tabitha. Especially after finishing reading someone who is a spectacular poet, like Bao Phi, I find it both inspirational and intimidating.

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  4. What a tribute to a feast of poets and poems.

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    1. Thanks Kay. It's a good thing I had to share this today or I don't know how long it would go on for!

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  5. I like all the backstory on the individual poets woven into your poem– strong voice!

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    1. Thanks Michelle, they are all authors who resonate with me.

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  6. you ARE a real poet! I think growing up with a Wordsworth-spouting mama is pretty sweet. Thank you for sharing that! And thank you for writing this poem to honor those who have come before... I do hope you will write more poems and share them with all of us. Your voice is beautiful and important. Happy last-gasp of Poetry Month!

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    1. Thank you Irene. I am happy to join this poetry writing community and look forward to both the end of April, and contributing to Poetry Friday!

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  7. What a wonderful round up of your favorite poets. This makes me want to write a similar poem. I wonder who I could include. What a great poem and prompt! Welcome to Poetry Friday. You're going to love it here.

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  8. It's important to know -- and honor -- our mentors, our roots.

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    1. I agree Mary Lee, even though they both inspire and intimidate.

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  9. Wow. Cheriee, nice to meet you. I love this tribute which stays down to earth in its praise, and thank you for introducing me to a few new names and faces!

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  10. You can be a poet, even if you never share. Even if you never write down a word. A poet looks at the world and sees poetry. A phrase can echo for a week. One word can stick like a thorn for years until someone pulls it and gives it new meaning. Your poem is a buffet. I'll savor it, one link at a time.

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    1. I think the real challenge is in our comparing ourselves to these giants. I admit to feeling inadequate compared to them!

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