National Poetry Month

Inspired by Black History month, The Academy of American Poets worked with a variety of interested parties including teachers, publishers, booksellers, librarians, and of course poets to figure out the many ways poetry could be celebrated. They concluded April was a great month for the celebration, and on April 1, 1996, President Bill Clinton proclaimed April to be National Poetry Month.

Following the Academy’s lead, Writers’ Morning Out has posted a poem-a-day during April since WMO’s inception in 2010.

“Memories of You” by Tom Davis

Memories,
Like ancient ghosts,
Haunt the attic of my mind

Burning kindling’s pungent smell
Hovering
In crisp fall air

Lovers skating
Arm in arm
Across frozen pond

White cotton sheets
Beneath thick quilts
Your body next to mine

Gardenia’s scent
Floating
On soft spring breeze

Lazy hum of bumble bee
Foraging nectar
Giving life

Summer’s sun
Beating down
On dew-covered grass

Children
Laughing
On crowded playground

Lightning bugs
Twinkling tiny beacons
Leading us
We know not where

Releasing your hand,
I watched you cross that muddy river
And yearned, so, for the other side

Now, I lie and listen
To the night’s
silence call

But I’ll remember you, my love
And all the good times we had