Dear Friend,

It's National Poetry Month. Ugh? Yay?

I dreaded poetry and literature in school because I never felt the confidence of understanding what the writer was trying to say. Dissecting the meaning of poetry in a class? Barf. And I'd be the last one to raise my hand.

My friend Patti Digh wrote a blog post the other day in which she countered my typical initial reaction to poetry of: I never understand it. She wrote:

"I don’t understand how the internet works either, not really. Or the telephone. Or voice mail. Or self-rising flour. Or Congress. Or wireless plans. I don’t know how my brain or pancreas work, for that matter. But I use them. Daily. Somehow.

Maybe understanding is overrated. I think it is. Instead, just for this one month, just read the words aloud. The language we speak is gorgeous, even when it is not. Speak them in Scottish or Irish accents if that helps. It never hurts. Poets point us to images we dare not speak aloud, and yet they speak them."

Yeah! I think understanding is overrated too! And how do I know that the people who say they understand really even understand? I mean, I shake my head yes all the time to people agreeing with them when I really have no idea what they are talking about. Maybe half of us are just faking our way through understanding life anyways. Confession: I am.

Hey I have a great idea...why don't we check out some poetry this month! Like:

This poem by my friend Maya Stein, a recent favorite.

Or watch this reading of Say Yes by Andrea Gibson.It kills me everytime.

But definitely watch Naomi Shihab Nye's reading of One Boy Told Me. Children write poetry without even knowing. Heck, they probably understand it all too. Why did I want to grow up so fast?

Or read Boo's first poem about leaves. So darn good. Dang. I really need to put in some more effort.

I actually wrote a few poems at a Naomi Shihab Nye workshop a few months ago. My friend Sarah read them and said: wow, they sound beautiful but I have no idea what they are about.

Hey, at least she was honest.

Love,

Ashley

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