Lovely and lively conversation at our second meet up. It was wonderful to welcome a few newcomers, and as always, a joy to share a wide range of gorgeous poems. Many touched on themes around nature, and the idea of being good ancestors. We discussed the musicality of poetry and song lyrics. We also talked about words and the way they live on, though their meaning may meander and stray far from their starting place.
This was also the first time we read some of our own writing based on last week’s prompt: school. Thank you to everyone for your generous and brave sharing!
A list of the poems we read
I’ve added some links where I could to the poems, poets or books if you would like to explore further.
I Believe by Elizabeth Alexander
Dead Stars by Ada Limon, from The Carrying
An Exercise in Love by Diane Di Prima
Now You Need Me by Virginia Hamilton Adair, from Ants on the Melon
Mexico by Richard Sheldon
Planet Earth by P. K. Page
Cat on a Clothes Line by Maxine Tynes, The Door of My Heart
The Song of Wandering Aengus by William Butler Yeats
Poetry writing prompt for next week
Prompt: “Words”
Inspired by Sylvia Plath’s poem, titled “Words”, our conversation often returned to the power of spoken and written word, and how words can take on a life of their own and endure much beyond the lifetime (and intention) of the speaker. Our prompt was simply to meditate on the nature of words.