A few years back, a really great writer told me she didn’t like poetry. She said she didn’t “get it,” that poetry was too obscure, too vague. And who can blame her? There’s plenty of poetry I don’t get, and I even studied it in college. I don’t love poems that make me feel stupid, but I don’t really like anything that makes me feel stupid, and there are heaps and heaps of things I don’t understand in the world.
There are plenty of poems out there, however, that are accessible yet deep, understandable but leave room for the imagination, specific yet universal. There are poems that speak to me, that move me, that change how I see the world.
If you are a relatively new subscriber to my blog, you probably don’t know that I’m a poet, and that for the last few years I have been celebrating National Poetry Month in April on my blog. During April, I like to ask my blog subscribers to send me poems they love.
Last year, one my subscribers sent me “We Astronomers” (by Rebecca Elson), which I fell in love with instantly (thank you, Marc). I have a friend, Camilla, who seems to share my taste in the type of poems she likes—she regularly sends me poems she enjoys, and the one for this week, “After Us” by Connie Wanek, is one that Camilla sent to me. I love how the description evokes the emotion in the poem. I immediately sought out Connie to see if she would allow me to use it, and she graciously said yes.
Tell me, what is your favorite poem and why?
You can listen to Robert McCready recite Connie Wanek’s poem on his Evening Magic YouTube Channel here.
During the month of April, to celebrate National Poetry Month, I am sharing a poem each week with you from a contemporary writer. I hope to pique your interest in poetry, if it needs to be piqued, and to show you that a really great poem can be accessible to all.
May you all be safe and well.
This poem was originally published in Poetry and has been published in other anthologies and books. It is published here with permission from the author. You can learn more about Connie Wanek here and here.
Photo of rain by Gabriele Diwald from Unsplash.com