Thursday, April 18, 2013

Poem in Your Pocket Day

Today is Poem in Your Pocket Day, a part of National Poetry Month. It is a day designated for sharing poetry.
 
  The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
 
I remember watching John Kennedy's inauguration and hearing Frost read. He was a well-known poet and he was still alive! As it turned out, he and President Kennedy died in the same year-1963.
 
Frost was from New England and I lived in Buffalo, New York. I knew what birch trees were and fences and neighbors and definitely snowy evenings.
 
Most people probably know this poem or at least the last few lines. I love that it is about making choices and in particular, different choices. Don't follow the crowd. Make your own decisions.
 
I chose this link because it includes audio of Frost reading the poem. I love both doing and attending poetry readings. It gives me the opportunity to give voice to my words the way I would like them to be heard and to hear other poets do the same. Listen to the audio and start going to poetry readings if you don't already.
 
If you are a poet and  you don't do readings, think about it. I know it can be scary, especially in the beginning.
 
What I found to be most surprising and rewarding is that people will come up to you afterward and tell you a story that your poem elicited. You get to hear many different ways that individuals connect with what you have written.
 
It's all about sharing. Just like Poem in Your Pocket Day. 
 
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