lillian the home poet

I am not in retirement.
I did not re-tire myself.
I planned all along to gallop
into rejuvenatement,
like riding a new steed through
bubbling brooks and wildflower fields.

I took the reins.
Refused to canter the sedate path,
or be put out to pasture
in the doldrums of old age.
What’s that saying? “You can’t teach
an old dog new tricks?”

But I was not an old dog.
A poetry class, stabs in the dark
at creating a poetry blog,
journaling every morning.
Then dVerse came along
and lillian-the-home-poet was born.

Poetry is more than rhyming,
moving words around on the page.
It’s pulling out thoughts,
sometimes so deep in my psyche
I never even knew they were there.
It’s a daily communion with self.

No need for adulation,
or publication.
Poets simply need space, time,
reflection, and a way to record.
Voice in head transferred to paper
or screen, or simply murmured aloud.

If a tree falls in a forest
and no one is around to hear it,
does it make a sound?
If a poet writes a poem
and no one is around to read it,
does it matter?

I’d answer a resounding yes.
Why? Because I believe
poetry is a communion with self.

NAPOWRIMO Day 26. Prompt: Write your own ars poetica, giving the reader some insight into what keeps you writing poetry, or what you think poetry should do.

dVerse Poets: the virtual pub for poets around the globe. We offer prompts every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday and one one LIVE Saturday session per month with audio and video.