On this third day of National Poetry Month, #verselove via Ethical ELA focused on the idea of collaborative inspiration. I love the way that Gae and Lori inspired each other by “poeming” each other and then using the poem as a starting point for their own writing. I definitely felt poemed this morning as I read through the poems already scattered by the participants in this month-long poetry fest. It’s interesting to me that I’m not sure exactly what triggered my own piece…and idea, a word, a comment left by someone on one of the poems…

I’m Not a Music Person

I’m not a music person says the one

who keeps the radio set on talk

Until…

the first strains of Fur Elise transport her back to childhood

and the roommate–the stocky second (or third) hand upright

where her hands learned to make music

Until…

rifs from Take the A Train and other classic jazz

set her toes to tapping and fingers snapping

and she remembers listening to them move from noise to music

and that unexpected Christmas morning duet,

a gift from the heart

Until…she bursts into song (off key of course)

when The Sound of Music comes on TV

and her sons are dumbfounded that she knows

all the words

Until…

grandbabies come and she croons to them

the lullabies from her childhood and their fathers’ childhoods

tunes traced through neuronal pathways

I’m not a music person

until the music comes on

until the music plays

I might be a music person

@kd0602