World Poetry Day

 Its the season I often mistake

birds for leaves, and leaves for birds.

The tawny yellow mulberry leaves

are always goldfinches tumbling

across the lawn like extreme elation.

The last of the maroon crabapple

ovates are song sparrows that tremble

all at once. And today, just when I 

could not stand myself any longer,

a group of field sparrows, which were

actually field sparrows, flew up into

the bare branches of the hackberry

and I almost collapsed: leaves

reattaching themselves to the tree

like a strong spell for reversal. What

else did I expect? What good

is accuracy amidst the perpetual

scattering that unspools the world.

Ada Limón

World Poetry Day is the perfect excuse to share a poem. I am a sucker for a poetry review that says "if you buy just one book this year, buy this one", which I think is how I came to purchase 'The Hurting Kind' by Ada Limón. It is one that has been sitting by the bed for months, just opened occasionally when I feel too tired to dive into a novel but I want to read for a few minutes before sleeping. Poetry is good for that. A book full of images of the natural world, but from an unusual perspective. If you want a gentle introduction to the world of poetry you can subscribe here to Poem-a-day, and a poem will arrive in your inbox every morning.

Stay safe. Be kind. Time for a spring clean.