Weekly Geeks: National Poetry Month

Well, yes, I don't do poetry posts very often on this blog. Not that I don't like poetry; I do. I find that when I read it, I'm always glad I did - but it certainly doesn't happen as often as it should. I'm not sure why that is - mainly, I think, because right now my life is in a place in which I am juggling so many things that when I have time to read, I like to go to a place with a long, sustained story in it, something that will take me away and put me in someone else's shoes for a while. It gives me perspective on my own life, while also providing a welcome escape from some everyday stresses and responsibilities. Poetry can do that, too, if not in the same way a good novel can, and I really should make a point of reading it more often.

That's why National Poetry Month (in the U.S. - but hey, anyone can join in!) is such a good thing. It makes us slow down and, perhaps, read a poem or two. So, in celebration, I present to you one of my very favorites. It is by Mary Jo Salter and is from her wonderful poetry collection Sunday Skaters (Alfred A. Knopf, 1994).

Hilary in Her Glory

The first tooth has pushed up,
serrated on the top
like a tulip.

A row of bulbs to bloom!
Who knows who planted them?
All will find room.

And you shall rise up too.
Tall on your elbows, you
will take the view--

some inches from the floor--
that less is never more.
One day Come here

will send you clear across
the kitchen to applause.
Ah, but who knows

the farthest place you'll crawl?
(I do. To that time when
Mother no longer can

be all in all.)