Spring brings many wonderful things — warmer weather, quenching rains, new life, Easter, and April is Poetry Month. Anytime is a good time for a poetry break, but this month, it feels mandatory.
My regular readers know how I love verse. My dad loved it, too. I’ve shared some of his poems in the past. Here’s another. He wrote this after he lost his father.
Buttercups and Roses
I will think of you in May
when there is spring in the air
when everything is fresh and new
and beauty everywhere.
I will kiss the golden sunrise
and smell the morning dew.
Where buttercups and roses bloom
I shall think of you.
Sand between my toes
on the beach where the ocean ends.
I gave away to the heavens above
my one and only friend.
A strong breeze—
A clear sky—
You went sailing out to sea.
Who could have known that only death
could take you away from me?
When autumn has come to pass
and the winter winds blow,
When my twilight years have ended,
This I know is so . . .
I will be with you in May
when there is spring in the air
when everything is fresh and new
and beauty everywhere.
We will kiss the golden sunrise
and drink the morning dew.
Where buttercups and roses bloom
I shall be with you.
by Norris E. Micheaux, Jr.
First published in my novel Possibles (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1995),
and later excerpted in Cricket Magazine (May 2001).
Dad died in the month of May, many years after writing this poem. I don’t believe in coincidences.
Take a poetry break, not just in April but often. Read one. Write one. Share one with someone you love. Happy Poetry Month.
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For local folks: In honor of Poetry Month, I will be speaking about Radiant, my new novel in verse, on Saturday, April 12th, at 10 a.m. at Martha Liebert Public Library in Bernalillo, New Mexico. Hope to see you there.
For folks attending the Texas Library Association Conference, I’ll be discussing Radiant on a panel — “Rhythm and Resonance” — at 12:30 p.m. on April 1st. No fooling!
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For more of my poetry blog posts see: “Poetry Break! Enjoy the Moment” from March 28, 2021, “Poetry Break! Honoring My Dad” from March 27, 2023, “Poetry Break! From Me to You” from April 28, 2023, and “Poetry: The Words That Emerge” from March 26, 2024.