Poetry Friday: First of the year!

Welcome to Poetry Friday!

I’m very excited to be hosting the festivities today.  Not only is this the first Poetry Friday roundup of 2013, but it’s also the first time I’ve ever hosted Poetry Friday.

(I only started this blog 5 months ago – so I hope I don’t screw things up!)

If you have something you’d like to share, just leave your link(s) in the Comments section below, and I’ll update the blog throughout the day.

For my part, I’m sharing my newest poem, which I wrote four nights ago.  As I mentioned in Tuesday’s post, I’m currently working on a follow-up to my winter-themed children’s poetry collection – an autumn-themed poetry collection – and this, I think, will most likely be the first poem of that book.  Seems to make sense, considering the subject!  Hope you like it…and be sure to check out all the other fantastic poetry at the links below…

First Day in the Cafeteria

They could have served us burgers.
They could have served us fries.
They could have served us mac ‘n cheese
or deep-fried chicken thighs.

They could have served cold pizza
or greasy beef pot pies,
so why oh why – our first day back -
do we get “Chef’s Surprise??”

- © 2013 Matt Forrest Esenwine

For more poetic ways to kick off your New Year, please visit these fine folks:

• If you’d like like to get the year kicked off in good shape, David L. Harrison suggests you read Jane Heitman’s poem, “Counting Down the Hours.”
• Catherine Johnson shares two original Month of Poetry poems.
• For the new year, Steve Patterson offers a poem about a little turtle, huge determination, and a new life.
• I’d like to welcome Lesley Fletcher to Poetry Friday!  Lesley is sharing a poem written at a car dealership, titled “The Flame.”
• Another new visitor to Poetry Friday is San Lin Tun, who wishes everyone a “Happy New Year.”
• Charles Ghigna shares his “New Year’s Resolutions” at The FATHER GOOSE Blog.
• Laura Purdie Salas has a roundup of the CYBILS Finalists in the Poetry Category.
• Gabrielle Pendergast also spotlights the CYBILS Poetry Finalists, and provides info on VerseDay, a year long blog fest celebrating all things verse! All the info is at her blog, Angelhorn.
• Speaking of the CYBILS, Irene Latham is giving away some CYBILS poetry book packs!
• Violet Nesdoly’s poem for this week is a tongue-in-cheek look at her own “Fiscal Crisis.”
• At A Teaching Life, Tara has a very fitting poem about “Burning the Old Year” by Naomi Shihab Nye.
• Jeff Barger has written a haiku titled “Killing Me With Kindness” at his blog, NC Teacher Stuff.
• At Gathering Books, Myra shares a favourite poem of hers…Derek Walcott’s, “Love after Love.”
• Laura Shovan is posting poem #4 in her poetry postcard/birthday project at Author Amok. This is one for American history buffs. Both the new poem, “Thick Skinned,” and the postcard refer to the Civil War battle between two ironclad ships, the Merrimack and the Monitor.
• Tamera Will Wissinger is also joining us for the first time today!  She just recently began a new online journal called The Writer’s Whimsy, and her contribution is called “Put On Your (Fishing) Poetry Hat.
• At Random Noodling, Diane has a poem by Edward Hirsch, which celebrates Georgia O’Keeffe, “Evening Star.”
• Kurious Kitty finds connections in a poem by David Ferry.
• KK’s Kwotes continues New Year’s celebrations with a song written by Peggy Seeger.
• Margaret continues to work on writing poems to her father’s artwork at Reflections on the Teche.
• They’re at the midpoint in THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY with a “toothless” poem by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater.
• At Growing Wild, Liz Steinglass shares an original poem about a cat named Houdini who likes to escape from Grandma’s visitors.
• They’re celebrating their 7th year of blogging at A Year of Reading with seven days of giveback-giveaway. The book they’re giving away today, to one lucky commenter, is FORGIVE ME, I MEANT TO DO IT.
• Karen Edmiston is in this week with T.S. Eliot’s “Journey of the Magi.”
• At Teacher Dance, Linda has a poem tribute for the Cybil’s finalists announced this week.
• Carlie is sharing an original poem on her blog, Twinkling Along, all about adopting an orphaned flower in her hour of catastrophe.
• Tabatha Yeats’ post today is about the Library of Congress’s Lyric Poetry Corridor, plus she shares a poem by Tennyson. (She also posted international HP book covers yesterday!)
• At Read, Write, Howl, Robyn Hood Black has been busy this week:  shes in with a Joyce Sidman poem and a link to her interview with her for Poetry at Play, as well as a link to a post on verse novels, featuring some of our shining PF poets.
• Susan Thomsen is featuring a photographed excerpt of a poem by Gwendolyn Brooks, from New York’s Library Way, at her blog, Chicken Spaghetti.
• At Poetry for Kids Joy, Joy Acey has poem about nonverbal communication this week with “Pinkie Promise.”
• Be sure to visit The Write Sisters for a short poem titled, “Dark Birds.”
• Joyce Ray is sharing a winter haiku at Musings.
• At Supratentorial, Alice is sharing the book poem, “If I Never Forever Endeavor” by Holly Meade.
• Matt Goodfellow shares an original poem, “New Yah Prayer.”
• At Wild Rose Reader, Elaine has a “forgotten” poem that she wrote years ago.  It’s a mask poem titled “Dinosaur Egg.”
• Mother Reader offers another in her series of songs as poetry, “Little Talks.”
• Ralph Fletcher has started blogging, and he joins us this week with a poem from one of his books, “Relatively Speaking: Poems About Family.”
• At On Point, Lorie Ann Grover has an original haiku for the new year, “Celebrate.”
• Carol Wilcox shares a dog poem by Mary Oliver at Carol’s Corner and also provides a link to the Warrior Canine Connection, an organization that raises service dogs for veterans and has a brand new litter of yellow lab puppies.
• At Booktalking, Anastasia is sharing a CYBILS Poetry nominee: “The Year Comes Round: Haiku through the Seasons” by Sid Farrar (Author) and Ilse Plume (Illustrator).
• Amy has a villanelle titled “I Understand” today at The Poem Farm.
• Haiti Ruth is in with “The End and the Beginning,” by Wisława Szymborska.
• At Writing and Ruminating, Kelly Ramsdell Fineman shares an original sonnet, “Lessons I Wish I Could Share With My Teenage Daughter.”
• And Perogyo brings us a review of the book, “Noisy Poems for a Busy Day” at her blog Perogies and Gyoza!

Poetry Friday: “Naked”

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day here in the U.S., and I’m still trying to work off my turkey coma.  You’d think the energy from the sugar in the tarte tatin I made would counteract the effects of the L-tryptophan in the turkey,  but you’d be mistaken.  Instead of it being a zero-sum situation where the chemical effects simply negate themselves, each of the effects tries to out-do the other.  Sort of like a game of walleyball with your brain as the ball.

Nevertheless, I had a blog post to put together, and no amount of soaring and crashing was going to deter me from my mission.  I wanted to post something seasonal for today…so I decided upon this:  a poem I thought perfect for this time of year.

It is the first of 22 poems I’m including in the manuscript for my winter-themed collection; once you read it, you’ll understand why I thought it best to start the book with this particular one!  Enjoy…and please be sure to check out all the Poetry Friday happenings with Mary Lee & Franki at A Year of Reading!

Naked

The wind blew off their clothes, oh my!
One minute they were fully dressed,
And then before we knew it
They had lost their tops and Sunday best.

The wind blew off their clothes, good grief!
It seemed to happen in a flash.
Now, there they stand quite naked –
Poor old elm and maple, oak and ash.

The wind blew off their clothes, it’s true;
It took away their pants and shirts.
But soon they will be looking fine
In snowy hats and snowy skirts.

- © 2012 Matt Forrest Esenwine

Thanksgiving Day: The one blessing we overlook

Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. will be here in two days, and everywhere you turn, people are talking, writing, and blogging about all the things they’re thankful for.  I, for one, am growing weary of it.

Now, please don’t get me wrong; it’s good to be grateful.  Indeed, we should be thankful – and display that thankfulness – every day of our lives.  We should reflect upon our blessings on a regular basis and never hesitate to show our appreciation for what we have.

My problem is not so much with the thankfulness; it’s that we’re missing an important reason to be thankful.

The Usual Suspects

Again, please don’t misunderstand me; I’m glad people are thankful for their blessings.  But there are certain blessings that show up on nearly everyone’s lists – our faith(s), our families and friends, our lives, our pets, our homes, our talents.

Some people may be thankful their loved ones made it home safely from being abroad; others may be grateful that they received a year-end bonus, or even have a job at all.

Even the poor and destitute among us may be thankful for things like the warmth of the sun or the kindness of a stranger.

I can say honestly that I am truly, truly, TRULY thankful for all these things…but you probably could have guessed that, even if you had never met me or had never even heard of me or this blog.

These are the blessings that most of humanity celebrates – and the acknowledgement that we should be grateful for these things is rooted in the love, compassion, and empathy that separates our species from the rest of the animal kingdom.

We recognize the importance of both gratitude and thankfulness.

A quick vocabulary lesson

Gratitude and thankfulness are not necessarily interchangeable.

I’m no lexicographer or linguist, but it has always been my understanding that these words had different meanings.  To be thankful means you’re appreciative that something that you wanted came about; to be grateful indicates you are appreciative towards someone or something.

(Any English professors in the house?  Please correct me if I’m wrong!)

The reason it’s important to know the difference is because gratitude is directional; thankfulness is not.  Feed a hungry animal and it may be thankful it received food, but it might not be grateful toward you for feeding it.  I know pet owners will disagree with that – having two dogs and two cats of my own, I’ll admit that some animals probably are grateful to the person taking care of them – but how many of these animals understand what it means to be grateful or thankful?

And therein lies the rationale for my previous statement that our recognition of the importance of both gratitude and thankfulness is one of the important qualities that elevates us above the rest of the animal kingdom.

Little blessings, and the BIG one

As I ponder this, I come to the conclusion that the human condition of feeling gratitude, thankfulness, and appreciation is itself a blessing.

Yes, I’m thankful for all those things we talked about earlier.  I’m thankful for my family, our friends, and our pets.  I’m thankful I live in a country that promotes freedom of speech, religion, and personal excellence.  I’m grateful to God and Jesus for their love and sacrifices; I’m grateful to my wife and family for supporting me as a self-employed stay-at-home dad; I’m grateful to Al Gore for creating the internet.

(I’m also thankful - or grateful – to whomever or whatever was responsible for getting my 2-year-old to finally stop waking up at 5am…daylight savings time really screwed up the poor little dude’s internal clock for a couple of weeks!)

But I don’t want to overlook this very important aspect of our humanity; that is, the recognition of the importance of gratitude and thankfulness.

Thankful…for being thankful?

Yes, that is basically what I’m saying.  Chuckle if you’d like.  However, when you actually think about what it means to be thankful for having the comprehension of what gratitude, appreciation, or even indebtedness mean…I hope you will understand why I believe it is so important.

We humans are not simply grateful, or thankful.  We comprehend – and celebrate – the importance of being grateful or thankful.

So this Thanksgiving Day, while we’re giving thanks for all we have, think about why you are thankful.

Think about why you are grateful.

And give thanks that you are.

Poetry Friday: “First Time for Everything”

About a month or so ago, I was looking through some of the poems I’ve written over the past few years and came across this.  I thought it would be appropos for this time of year, so I decided to use it…last month.

But then this happens, then that happens, and before you know it, the season has gotten away from you!  So before the last leaf drops, allow me to present this little poem I wrote two years ago.  And for all of today’s Poetry Friday offerings, head over to Ed DeCaria’s blog here!

First Time for Everything

One cool October afternoon
I lay down in the grass
And watched the falling leaves of red
And gold and orange pass.

It must have been quite comfortable,
The sun and autumn breeze;
I closed my eyes and fell asleep
Beneath some maple trees.

When I awoke, I was amazed –
I could not see the sky!
A mound of leaves had covered me
Completely, three feet high.

Well, I must say, I’ve jumped in leaves
A hundred times or more,
But never had a pile of them
Jump onto me before.

- © 2010, Matt Forrest Esenwine

Poetry Friday: Fall Treats at YARN!

Click to go to the Young Adult Review Network and my poem!

Last week, the folks at the online literary journal, Young Adult Review Network (YARN), published three poems to promote their “Fall Treats Poem Drive and Contest.”  All three poems had been submitted by individuals from different parts of the country who did not know each other, did not know what the others were writing about, nor even when the poems might be published, if at all.

Coincidental, then, that they all had apples as their subjects!

YARN, apparently, knows a good idea when it hits them on the head (Get it?  Like Sir Isaac Newton?  The apple fell, and hit them on the - ok, you get it), so they decided to use apples as their October theme.  I’m pleased that they were inspired by one of my poems not only for publication, but for helping them formulate their contest, which just began this past Monday.  You can view all three poems here…then write one of your own and send it in!

And be sure to see what else is happening today for Poetry Friday with Irene at Live Your Poem!

Poetry Friday: “Sonnet 10″

Y’know…now that I think about it…

I should’ve come up with a title for this poem.

For some reason, I just never got around to it.  I wish I could find the original, which had the date of completion on it (I’m sure it’s packed away somewhere around here) but I’d guess that I wrote this around 2000.  We were living in Highgate, Vermont, at the time and I was home on the front porch, looking at the field across the road and the line of multi-colored trees that stretched behind it.  I think it was late September, but it must have been a cool, early fall because I recall the trees had already lost at least half of their leaves, which spurred me to write this.

It’s an adult poem, never published, but one of my favourites; I hope you like it.  For more poetry, please visit Laura Salas for the complete Poetry Friday roundup!

Sonnet 10

The dark green trees, so tender yestermonth,
Have now begun a turn of gruesome hue
And sanguine shades make manifest a life
With which the leaves the sun cannot imbue.
Where once youth’s shine had bourgeoned through these hills
And sweetness of the air perfumed the land,
Now sullen limbs hang low, with fingers crack’d
As if by Hodur’s cold and mighty hand.
The souls come creeping, seeping through worn skin –
An erubescent glow becomes a cry
To Heaven; stately corpses standing tall
Are beckoning us all to watch them die.
And while tears drop so silently to ground,
To tread upon them ‘tis a deaf’ning sound.

- Matt Forrest Esenwine

Poetry Friday: “Purgatory”

I have to thank David L. Harrison for this posting.  Last week in his blog, he posted a new poem (you can read it here) which reminded me of one I had written a few years ago about the same subject.  It got me thinking about how and why we view things the way we do…

A group of one hundred people could all witness the same thing simultaneously – a tree, a sunset, a rock, a catastrophe – and each one would see it, feel it, and remember it differently (I’ve written a number of poems about this concept, actually).  A perfect example of this is to take a classroom of children outside to view something mundane like the lawn or the sky – nothing too exciting or stimulating - then bring them inside and ask them to write down one word that describes what they saw.  You’ll get very different answers because each child views life through their own thoughts, interests, and personalities.  We all do.

That’s what’s so great about poetry!

One person can look at a leaf caught in a spiderweb and think stand-up comedy (like David did) while another can look at the same thing and think death (hence, the title of MY poem).

So here it is; it’s a bit more prosaic than most of my poetry, but I wanted to relate the experience as a story as much as a poem.  There’s a distinct narrative I wanted to get across, and even though I wrote it for adults, I wanted younger readers who may happen upon it to be able to understand the gist of what I was saying.

This was published last autumn in the Licking River Review, and now, a year later, with fall fast approaching, I suppose it’s the perfect time to ‘resurrect’ it.  Hope you like it!  And if you want to see more Poetry Friday posts, you can find the complete roundup at Random Noodling!

Purgatory

On its gentle descent to the grave,
a lone maple leaf
found itself
suddenly suspended,
ensnared
in a spiderweb.

Caught halfway
between life and death
it hung,
contemplating
a tenuous existence.

Not wanting to complete
the journey
downward,
the leaf was satisfied
to accept this fate.

Better,
it thought,
than the alternative –
dirt
and rain
and thick-treaded soles.

But as the days grew shorter
the weeks grew long;
and the leaf
dry and brittle with age
watched
longingly
as friends and family passed.

Unexpectedly
a burst of wind
loosed the grasp of the web;
the leaf
now free to fall,
eagerly
descended in anticipation
and finally
happily
found rest.

- Matt Forrest Esenwine