Poetry Friday: Why I'm Here

Lately I've been plagued by existential gloom and doom. I guess most of us experience it at one time or another. "Why are we here?" "What's the point?" Etc.

A few days ago, as I walked through the cold rain to meet a friend for tea, I thought: why am I trying to define my purpose in terms of an end state? Maybe the question isn't, "Why are we here in the long run?", but rather, "Why are we here at this moment in time?"

This poem is my attempt to answer that question.
 

Why I’m Here

To walk in the misty drizzle
beneath an orange umbrella,
and hear the raindrops’ sizzle
against my sunny mandala.

To pause in a cozy café,
its rain-streaked windows glistening.
To serve up my stories au lait,
a friend beside me, listening.

To fall asleep to the patter
and dream of shipwrecks all night.
To wake to the sparrows’ chatter.
To pick up my notebook and write.
 

Welcome, all! Today's Poetry Friday round-up is here. I like to do things the old-fashioned way, so if you'd like to participate, please leave a comment with a link to your contribution. I'll check in throughout the day and add your links to this entry. And, of course, if you'd just like to say hi... please do!

Poetry News

• At The Drift Record, Julie Larios reminds readers of the Peace Poem Project and reflects on books versus bombs.
• There are still a few Poetry Friday hosting slots available this spring and summer. Leave a comment at A Year of Reading if you would like to host.

Original Poems and Translations

• Black-Eyed Susan shares her lyrical creation, "smells like rain."
• At Political Verses, Elaine Magliaro shares a humorous original, "Knock, Knock, Knockin' on Heaven's Door: John Yoo at the Pearly Gates."
• At A Wrung Sponge, Andromeda Jazmon shares three spring haiku.
• Jeannine Atkins takes the plunge and shares her original poem "The Biographer Becomes a Poet."
• At Lectitans, Kimberley offers her translation of a stanza from The Aeniad.
• At Rooted, Gautami Tripathy shares "moon eats sugar puffs". (For some strange reason, I could really go for a snickerdoodle right about now.)
• At Fomagrams, David Elzey shares a series of twitku (Twitter haiku)—making far better use of Twitter than most of us!
• At Deo Writer, Jone shares "Outside My Window," her response to this week's Poetry Stretch at The Miss Rumphius Effect.
• At Liz in Ink, Liz Scanlon shares a link to her daily haiku, not to mention other haiku fun.
• At My World—Mi Mundo, Stella shares "Things to Do When You Are Feeling Blue."
• At Knocking from Inside, Tiel Aisha Ansari shares "Not from Here."
• At On Point, Lorie Ann Grover shares an original haiku.
• Kelly Polark shares an ode to the northern cardinal.
• Laurel Snyder shares an Arbor Day poem for children.
• Miss Erin shares a personal verse, "Disconnection."
• Maya Ganesan shares her NaPoWriMo poem of the day, "Broken Stars."

Poetry Challenges

• This week, Two Writing Teachers are hosting a Poem a Day Challenge. Today's challenge is to write a sensory poem about your favorite season, but poems on other subjects are welcome as well!
• Laura Purdie Salas shares the results of this week's 15 words or less challenge, "Under the Bleachers."
• At Blue Rose Readers, Elaine Magliaro shares the results of her opposite poems challenge.
• At The Miss Rumphius Effect, Tricia shares the results of her "Outside the Window" challenge.

Book Reviews and Stretchers

• At Wild Rose Reader, Elaine Magliaro reviews four animal haiku books.
• At Just One More Book, Andrea and Mark chat about rhyming picture book Silly Tilly, by Eileen Spinelli.
• At Write Time, Linda offers classroom connections for The Underwear Salesman, by J. Patrick Lewis.
• At A Patchwork of Books, Amanda discusses I Love Our Earth, by Bill Martin, Jr., and Michael Sampson.
• At Biblio File, Jennie reviews Meet Danitra Brown, by Nikki Grimes.
• Fuse #8 reviews My Hippo Has the Hiccups, by Kenn Nesbitt.
• At Poetry for Children, Sylvia reviews Loose Leashes, a collection of dog poems.

Poetry by Kids

• At A Year of Reading, Mary Lee shares her fourth graders' 15 words or less poems.
• MsMac shares fourth graders' Fibonacci poems.

Favorite Poems

• At Writing and Ruminating, Kelly Fineman shares Ben Jonson's classic poem "Song: To Celia," along with her analysis and a recording of the poem set to music.
• At Sandy Cove Trail, Andromeda Jazmon shares Ogden Nash's "Always Marry an April Girl" and some beautiful April photos.
• Shelf Elf shares a haiku by Issa.
• Kurious Kitty shares Robert Penn Warren's "Ways of Day."
• At The Miss Rumphius Effect, Tricia shares Paul Laurence Dunbar's "A Lazy Day."
• Color Online shares Kimiko Hahn's "The Razor."
• At Carol's Corner, Carol shares Anna Denise's "How to Change a Frog into a Prince."
• Laura Purdie Salas shares some favorites from The Underwear Salesman, by J. Patrick Lewis, plus some other fun poetry-related links.
• The Stenhouse Blog shares Donald Graves' "The Night Before Fishing Season Opens."
• Jama Rattigan shares some tasty poetic tidbits about banbury cakes. (Warning: do not read on an empty stomach!)
• At The Book Mine Set, John Mutford shares two favorites from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass.
• Yat-Yee Chong shares J.R.R. Tolkien's "Roads Go Ever On."
• Karen Edmisten shares Helen H. Moore's "Reading in Bed."
• At I'm Here; I'm Queer; What the Hell Do I Read?, Lee Wind shares a rumination on love by Sappho.
• Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast shares Dylan Thomas' "In the Beginning."
• At GottaBook, Gregory K. shares a new J. Patrick Lewis poem, "The Poet of the World." Be sure to click back in Gregory's blog for poems by other great children's poets of today (including himself)!
• At Bildungsroman, Little Willow shares Emily Dickinson's "Hope Is the Thing with Feathers."
• Neverending Story shares Julie Redstone's "The Baobab Tree."
• At Read Write Believe, Sara Lewis Holmes shares Mark Jarman's "Dressing My Daughters" and other poetry tidbits.
• At Angieville, Angie shares "Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes," by Billy Collins.
• At Readertotz, Lorie Ann Grover shares "Intery, Mintery," a traditional children's rhyme.
• Tabatha Yeatts shares several musical poems.