On this 30th day of April, my pockets are overflowing with poems: those I’ve read, those I’ve written, those I’ve taught, those I’ve admired, those that echo in my ears. I’m grateful for the community of poets who have taken the time to read and respond to my poetry, to my blog visitors who stop by and tap the like button, to my students who have learned to love a metaphor, and to my husband who puts up with the push and pull of my need to write, my struggle to write, and the time it takes each and every evening to get words on the page. Poetry doesn’t begin and end with April, but it is wonderful to have a month where poetry gets the attention it needs and deserves. On this last day of National Poetry Month, my poem is about poems.

Counting poems

birds that flutter just out of reach

a flash of color

sweet melodies in my ear

I can almost see them

but not quite

until that blur comes into focus

with a word

a heartbeat

a breathe

don’t try to catch them

just count them

and spread them

to seed the world

@kd0602