NaPoWriMo #9: poetry night

In honor of National Poetry month, tonight was family poetry night at our public library. Jim had errands to run (any excuse to avoid poetry, really, since I overtax him with mine) so Jimmy, Audrey and I walked down to the library together.

It was a great presentation, combining some well-known classics by Browning, Shakespeare, Byron, Dickinson and Poe (to name a few) with Karen Jo Shapiro, a modern poet who writes for kids and spoofs the classics. The talented cast presented the poems by acting some out, singing some, and reciting others with appropriate drama. At an hour, it was a little long for younger kids like mine; by halfway through the presentation, Audrey had started kicking Jimmy. But on the whole, the kids did well, and both enjoyed the evening, especially the cookies and cupcakes served afterward.

On the way home, my poetic juices started to flow, and here's the result:


Walking Home from the Library with My Children on a Spring Evening

In the velvety gloom
of half-dark after dusk
we stroll four short blocks
on one side
a small palm presses warm into mine
on the other
a voice sing-songs me sweet stories
of birds and eggs in their nests

all the way
that warmth, that soothing song
float me along
from street lamp to porch light
past tulips ready to burst into brilliance
after one more day of sun
past lilacs that have given up
bare bones to buds of new jade
past every unseen growing thing
smelling green again
past all the shady places in between
and through the twilight air
the tinkling of talking and laughter
fades in and out
as we pass each house
on the way
to that last bright glow
circling out into the night
to welcome us home.