Spring is finally here and April is National Poetry Month.
We are going to have some posts, activities and contests this month to celebrate all things poetry. So enjoy and start reading some poetry…all the cool kids are doing it.
Click here to read poems about Spring to get started.
First, maybe you noticed the Poet’s Corner in the lobby of 175 Eldridge St. You’ll find a magnetic poetry board (pictured below) for you to play and experiment with. Check it out, have some fun. Also here is a link for you to play with magnetic poetry on your computer.
Also, don’t forget to sign up for Poem-A-Day. You’ll get a new poem sent to you everyday. It’s a great way for you to improve your English skills and a great way to start your day.
Finally, we have some prizes from the Poetry Foundation . The first 3 students to tell us their favorite poem in the comments section will win a prize!
MY favorite poem is “The Weight of Nothing”
I don’t understand it deeply,but in my understanding ,I think this is talking about missing the friends .so do I .I like the sentence in the poem is “without my friend Nothing
on the page.” I agree !
The Weight of Nothing
By Amy Uyematsu
to end with nothing is something
Suvan Geer
or to rephrase a popular Billy Preston song,
“somethin’ from nothin’ is somethin’”
I
everyone loves
the disappearing
coin. a bird pulled from
an empty hat. the comfort of
trusting a magician’s hands.
when we know we’ll get some-
thing from what
he takes away.
II
the student’s assignment—
concentrate on nothing
for fifteen minutes a day.
she tries to empty her head
but can’t figure out how.
after all, she doesn’t know what
nothing sounds or looks like,
and the teacher won’t give
the slightest clue. yet
she’s got a good hunch
the exercise might quiet
all that shriek and clatter
trapped between her ears.
so like a good pupil,
she devotes an entire year
searching for nothing.
some days she’s as still
as a stone, but can’t
escape the distractions
of river and wind,
footsteps approaching,
birds calling in the trees
overhead. or closing
her eyes, she’ll focus
on a cloudless blue sky.
pillows and planes and purple
sunsets keep interrupting.
she silently repeats words
like ocean or why,
chants sounds that dwell
low in her throat
like maah and uhmm.
at year’s end her teacher
asks if she’s found nothing.
she tells him she’s found
everything but nothing.
he smiles, you’re closer
than you think. now
try for twenty minutes.
III
we’ve all seen them—
looking at their empty
outstretched palms,
and we’re fooled, thinking
about what isn’t there.
sighing, they marvel
at all they’ve held in those hands,
their history revealed
in the thickened joints,
the full weight of their desire—
even now, incredible
hands still opening
and grasping
when there’s nothing to keep.
IV
without my friend Nothing
on the page, I’d never have to write
another poem. but Nothing waits
here, waving me on, inviting me
to rap and rant, pray sing, testify
what is, was, could, and always will be.
I greet all that’s coming,
contained as sheer breath
into word, born
to crave and engrave the emptiness
that Nothing can’t stop giving.
Thanks Jimmy, great choice! Very Zen. Come to the office to get your prize from the Poetry Foundation 🙂
Thanks for the prize,I like it so much !
As day began to break, we passed
the “honk for worms” sign,
passed it honking again
and again, to wake up the worms
my dad said. It was only
about another half mile to
the aspen grove and our worm digs.
The humus, spongy and almost
Thanks Stephanie. Where did this poem come from? It’s fun. Come by the office to get your gift 🙂
OH..OH.. I need some luck, give me the prize.
Fire and Ice
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
Robert Frost
Great choice, Grace! Robert Frost is a popular American poet. You can claim your gift from Joe…
I try to love poetry and understand them. I love Tang Shi.
Which Tang Shi is your favorite?
I always like Wang Wei’s poem “Lu Chai”. I’ve tried to translate it a few times for fun and learning.
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