Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Rhymes, Sonnets and Couplets! Oh my!

How exciting! April is National Poetry Month. I happen to be a big fan of poetry. In fact before I became wrapped up in the world of journalism, I was constantly writing poetry (especially in those angst-y teen years).

One of my all-time favorite poets is Emily Dickinson. She was born December 10, 1830, in Amherst, Massachusetts, and spent most of her life as a recluse. She’s probably most famous for her “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” poem. She is also responsible for one of my favorite quotes: “A word is dead when it is said some say. I say it just begins to live that day.”

Here is one of my favorite poems by her:

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.

We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility.

We passed the school where children played
At wrestling in a ring;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.

We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.

Since then ’t is centuries; but each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses’ heads
Were toward eternity.


What about you? Which poets do you enjoy reading? Do you write poetry? Please share!

2 comments:

Ashley said...

I love the title of your blog, i guess because mine is titled "The New Roar Times" In response to your questions, yes i do enjoy poetry, my favorite poems being The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes, Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe, and Nothing Gold can stay by robert frost. I read the first two in English class in school, and the last one in The Outsiders By S.e. Hinton. I also write poetry, on the spur of the moment. Right now i am into haikus. i did manage to get a poem of mine called wings published in a kids writing anthology thanks to a contest. I'm blathering. I will now shut up. Bye!!!

Pie said...

Those are definitely all good poems. Congrats on getting published! Thanks for stopping by, too!