I had never heard of Joel Derfner’s book, Gay Haiku, until I stumbled upon it on Joe My God last week. The book was originally published in 2005, but has recently been turned into an iPhone App that shares Derfner’s haikus with you. The image included in this post is just one example of the humorous poetry you can expect to find.
Should you be interested in purchasing the book, I’d suggest you contact your local LGBT bookstore or you may purchase it on Amazon.com, here.
I can’t recall how I found this video of Andrea Hope (a poet living in the northwest) but I liked the poem and thought I’d share it.
If you like Andrea, you can find her online at andreahope.tumblr.com or search by her name on YouTube for more poems.
I love poetry but sometimes people fail to see the connection or appreciate this form of prose, so I was really happy when I stumbled upon this video of 15-year old Noah St. John who shared his story at the Youth Speaks Grand Slam Championship late last year. I’d really suggest you watch the full six minutes. I was very touched and think you will be too.
Water
I love poetry even though sometimes I cannot follow or fully appreciate the prose. Yesterday’s Presidential Inauguration featured Richard Blanco reading his poem One Today to the President and the nation. Blanco is a Cuban-American who happens to be gay and lives in New England (Maine to be exact). In lieu of posting the full text (which you can read here), I’ve inserted the video of his reading. His poem stresses unity and the common bonds that touch us all.
My brother is getting married later today so I thought I’d share a poem befitting the occasion.
Devotion
The heart can think of no devotion
Greater than being shore to ocean –
Holding the curve of one position,
Counting an endless repetition.
Devotion was written by American Poet, Robert Frost, and first published in 1928. I love the simplicity of this poem and the imagery he evokes to describe such a personal and intimate concept.
If you don’t learn to write your own life story,
someone else will write it for you.
As I mentioned previously, April is National Poetry Month so when I happened to see To be heard on PBS I was glued to my television. This documentary tracks three teenagers from the South Bronx as they tell their stories of friendship, love and struggle, and show how a radical poetry class inspires them to change. The documentary also shows how language and in particular poetry brings people together.
Check out the trailer To Be Heard
I love poetry because it can evoke strong feelings. That may sound strange, because I hear people say they don’t “get” poetry. But when I ask these people when was the last time they read poetry they refer back to when they were in class. Can you imagine what one might think of music if your sole experience was from music class? I’m pretty certain shows like American Idol and The Voice wouldn’t be on television.
Poetry is a lot like music. The trick is finding poets who speak to you.
Poetry inserts art into the form of communicating and can beautifully describe abstracts like love and faith. Poetry can also perfectly capture and describe a moment or feeling with amazing elegance.
I thought I’d share an excerpt from a poem in honor of national poetry month. This poem is appropriately named Boston and is a bit naughty.
I watched two men
press hard into
each other, their bodies
caught in the club’s
bass drum swell,
and I couldn’t remember
when I knew I’d never
be beautiful, but it must
have been quick
and subtle, the way
the holy ghost can pass
in and out of a room.
I want so desperately
to be finished with desire,
the rushing wind, the still
small voice.
If you are intrigued you can read the full poem online or purchase Aaron Smith’s book Blue on Blue Ground. He even has a rather interesting poem about Brad Pitt.
Each year The Boston Globe encourages readers to write a limerick in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. Have you submitted a limerick yet? Get in touch with your inner naughty-poet and submit your own limerick to The Boston Globe here.
Here is a humorous submission from 2011, which was penned by Kari Pedersen from Medford, MA.
There once was a mayor from Boston
Who’d talk like his mouth’s full of cotton
He’d mumble and he’d fumble
And on occasion, take a tumble
But his laughable gaffes not forgotten
One of my favorite poems ever written is by Robert Frost. Each autumn I post his poem, Nothing gold can stay. It is obvious that Frost was inspired by the fall foliage in New England when he wrote this poem back in 1923. Nothing gold can stay won the 1924 Pulitzer prize for poetry.
I hope you enjoy the poem as much as I do.
Nature’s first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
All humor aside, it is going to be a beautiful day here in Boston, which will only add to the festivities. It also gives me an excuse to post an Irish blessing, which I’m sure many have heard before, and I’ve always liked.
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
For those who do regularly visit my blog, thank you for your patience. This week has been busier than I would have anticipated.
Tagged BosGuy, Boston Guy, Poetry
St. Patrick’s Day is around the corner and The Boston Globe has listed popular limericks submitted by readers from last year. Limericks are typically witty poems (sometimes naughty) that follow the A-A-B-B-A rhyme pattern.
I’m sure most Americans (certainly anyone from New England) are familiar with the notorious limerick, Man from Nantucket, but I opted to share one of my favorite limerick’s submitted to the Globe last year by Christopher Russo of Boston.
From A Red Sox Fan (an optimist)
A summer we’ll spend at old Fenway,
Watching our team win both night and day.
What pitching! What defense!
It’s only commonsense–
Print the World Series tickets today!
If you feel inspired, include a favorite limerick in the comments section.
I have a soft spot for poetry. Its not a form of prose often recited, and much of it often goes over my head, but when I connect with a particular poem or on the rare occassion I write a poem it usually resonates in a way that other literature does not. Here is a beautiful poem written by one of my favorite poets, Robert Frost.
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening was first published in 1923. Although there are no woods to speak of in my neighborhood, Boston received its first snowfall this week – in fact there are flurries falling as I type this.
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
I think we can all identify with Frost’s ending “And miles to go before I sleep.” He meant it quite literally in his poem, but “miles” could just as easily be a euphemism for all the errands and resposibilities we have. I hope that if you do indeed have miles to go that you take time to stop as the gentleman in the poem did to pause, reflect and enjoy the moment.
Tagged BosGuy, Boston Guy, Poetry
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
According to Wikipedia, this poem by Robert Frost was first written and published in the Yale Review in 1923. It is one of my favorite poems and each autumn I like to post this to share the beauty of Frost’s words.
Tagged BosGuy, Boston Guy, Poetry
Lim’ricks are the naughtiest prose
Dirty rhymes we love to compose
Men from Nantucket
Shouting, “Go $uck it!”
Are fun to write I suppose
If you have a Limerick you’d like to share, I’d enjoy hearing it. Feel free to e-mail me or leave it in the comments section. Oh yeah, and Happy St. Patrick’s day – it’s practically a holy day of obligation here in Boston.
Tagged BosGuy, Boston Guy, Poetry
BosGuy 