Saturday, September 30, 2006

Teen Poetry Cafe at the Lafayette Library

La Maestra and die Lehrerin will offer extra credit to student poets who attend the next poetry slam at the Lafayette Library. (Teens only, no adults admitted.) Click here for more information.

New Frost Poem Discovered

Click on this link to go to the NPR website and read about a newly discovered poem written in 1918 by American poet Robert Frost.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

No Title (Bless)

Small, errant puffs of wind rustle the leaves softly
and cause the blue plastic-covered chains of the swings to creak.
The short, stubby green stems of grass, and weeds, growing between
the cracks in the pavement are faded and worn,
like the pieces of wood used to create the twists and turns
of the rickety old swingset.
There's someone sitting, far away, across the acres of waving prairie grasses,
on the scorching metal bench, but I can't see their face.
It's quiet here, you could say, no laughing, screaming,
crying
though every once in awhile short blasts of music
sound from passing cars.
I'm not really here to play or write or anything.
Just to sit and stare out at the clouds, the trees
and imagine I'm somewhere else
somewhere magical, somewhere crazy.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

First Club Anniversary!

Greetings!

We are approaching the first anniversary of the poetry club, and as you will notice, our name has changed to reflect this year's weekly schedule. We are now The Thursday Afternoon Poetry Club, but our purpose remains the same as it always was. We come together in person and on the blogosphere to read, write and share original poetry.

Our club membership has expanded from the original twelve female members to a roster of thirty-five students from all four high school classes, equally represented by both sexes. I'm also delighted to see that although some of the original members are no longer enrolled in the club due to scheduling conflicts, they remain virtual members by continuing to post their poetry on the blog.

As of this morning, we've made over 130 posts and had over 2,300 hits on our blog over the last year. The visitors come from all over the world; click on the Sitemeter icon below the Blogger icon on the right to see for yourself who has been reading our work.

New members:
I'm excited to read what you will write this year, and to continue to share feedback that will help us all grow as writers and readers of contemporary poetry. If you haven't turned in your blogging permission forms, do so soon so that I can send you the email invitation to begin posting.

Everyone:
Here's a prompt to play with. See what you get out of it, then post and/or bring your results to the next club meeting.

Yesterday was the first day of autumn and the leaves are beginning to pull out their winter clothes. Write a poem about how you are transforming in some way.

Happy writing!

Monday, September 04, 2006

Murmurs (Press)

I'm sick
of shifting my eyes
to the door as it opens,
freezing with ice
that tingles my skin
under all of this
heavy, loud air,
and stares
that clear the scene
for only me.
And life
just moves in circles
over my head,
a vulture
waiting.
I can't
get up, my eyes open
and close, and the weight
of my body holds me,
I fall back, and lay here,
in silence, blind.