April is National Poetry Month! The annual celebration of this beautiful art form was inaugurated in 1966 by the American Academy of Poets with the hopes of spreading the words of extraordinary American poets, encouraging the reading of poems, increasing attention surrounding poetry in media and art, and promoting increased circulation and publication of poetry.Â
In accordance with this mission, I thought I’d share some of my own original works and challenge those of you out there in Haverford community to submit your own in honor of the splendor of poetry and poets in our community and beyond.Â
“Bossy”
Do my breasts make me bossy,
or is it the curve of my thighs?
The sway in my hips
when I walk with gusto
is not a performance
Â
So I decree:
I can no longer
bite my tongue
There is no currency left
To censor my steadfast thoughts,
beliefs, opinions
My cup runneth over
Â
I do not have to burn my bras
I am no less entitled
to my womanhood
There is no shadow
you could cast
to diminish my substanceÂ
Â
“Driftwood”Â
Almost lover
Did my mouth breach yours
Or was that another fabricationÂ
A figment of my overactive imagination
Something melodic about the way words depart from your lips
As if they could be the remedy
Waking up to the face of obscured winter sunÂ
net-like screen, cracked open window at my bedside
Could reality pick upÂ
Where my unconscious trailed off…Â
Â
You were standing there on the bank
Driftwood surrounded you like a carcass
In your calloused hands
You held the end of the thread
While northeastern winds swept upÂ
The four corners of the kiteÂ
The look on your face seemed to suggestÂ
you will always keep me strung alongÂ
Â
I will view you there on the bankÂ
Scattered with discarded beer cans and sea glass
Beckoning you to reel me inÂ
Shield me from the autumn wind
Â
But the gust you leave me in
Each time you release meÂ
Cuts deeperÂ
than the shards of unrequited affectionÂ
That build up like plaque
In the arteries of my dilapidated heartÂ