68. An Elegy from Edna St. Vincent Millay

In memory of the students who died recently at Blacksburg, Virginia, and all those young men and women who've died in the war in Iraq and elsewhere, and because it National Poetry Month (and I haven't posted any poems yet), I offer this poem of Edna St. Vincent Millay:

From "Memorial to D.C. (Vassar College, 1918)"

O, loveliest throat of all sweet throats,
Where now no more the music is,
With hands that wrote you little notes
I write you little elegies!

V --Elegy

Let them bury your big eyes
In the secret earth securely,
Your thin fingers, and your fair,
Soft, indefinite-colored hair--
All of these in some way, surely,
From the secret earth shall rise;
Not for these I sit and stare,
Broken and bereft completely:
Your young flesh that sat so neatly
On your little bones will sweetly
Blossom in the air.

But your voice...never the rushing
Of a river underground,
Not the rising of the wind
In the trees before the rain,
Not the woodcock's watery call,
Not the note the white-throat utters,
Not the feet of children pushing
Yellow leaves along the gutters
In the blue and bitter fall,
Shall content my musing mind
For the beauty of that sound
That in no new way at all
Ever will be heard again.

Sweetly through the sappy stalk
Of the vigorous weed,
Holding all it held before,
Cherished by the faithful sun,
On and on eternally
Shall your altered fluid run,
Bud and bloom and go to seed:
But your singing days are done;
And the music of your talk
Never shall the chemistry
Of the secret earth restore.

All your lovely words are spoken.
Once the ivory box is broken,
Beats the golden bird no more.

63. Random Bits from Favorite Blogs

If you haven't been reading the poems at BrooklynArden you should stroll on over there. I personally love THE WRITER, but each poem has resonance and beauty. And it's still April-National Poetry Month.

The Pullitzer Prize list is posted here . Of all the awards, this is one of the most prestigious (and yet it least influences my taste in books and my purchases). If this is your thing, enjoy.

But really, if you're more of a kid at heart, go to http://fusenumber8.blogspot.com/ and scroll down to the you-tube collection of library videos (April 15, 2007-Video Sunday). Very amusing. I don't know why librarians have an image of being strict, narrow, boring. Some stereotypes die hard, but this one must go.

61. A Poetry Quiz-or what form of poetry are you?

There's this funny little quiz to determine what form of poetry you might be. Find it here. poeticform (Thanks to Brooklyn Arden and Fuse 8).

So I took this quiz. I am this poetic form:

If they told you I'm mad, then they lied. I'm odd, but it isn't compulsive. I'm the triolet, bursting with pride; If they told you I'm mad, then they lied. No, it isn't obsessive. Now hide All the spoons or I might get convulsive. If they told you I'm mad then they lied. I'm odd, but it isn't compulsive. What Poetry Form Are You?

But if I weren't that, I'd be this:

I, as a clerihew, Tend to be merry; too Merry, it might, perhaps, by some, be claimed; But I'm sure that these people are wrong, and need to be grievously maimed. What Poetry Form Are You?

Hmm. Sounds as if my sanity is in question. But then, I took the quiz immediately after a frustrating encounter with a computer system that has been driving my batty.

Apparently it's much more common (according to Fuse 8) to be a terza rima, at least in library-writing-reading circles. Let me know what poetic form you are.

59. National Poetry Month

April is NationalPoetryMonth . If you haven't been reading enough poetry lately, this is the time to forge into new territory or at least amble through the familiar and favorite.

You can check out some original (and amusing) poems at GottaBook .

And since poetry isn't limited to adult tastes, but encompasses silly rhymes and jingles, and youthful as well as eternal subjects, kids can get into the poetry act, too. The Children's Book Council has declared the third week of April as the young people's poetry week (read about it here: youngpeople'spoetryweek ). Teachers can find ideas for bringing poetry alive in the classroom here . Or look for one of my favorite reference volumes: A KICK IN THE HEAD, an everyday guide to poetic forms, by Paul B. Janeczko, illustrated by Chris Raschka.

If you want to see what fun they're having over Manhattan way, you can read some raucous entries at Gawker .

But if you're feeling surly, take comfort. There are those poets who chafe at the idea of a month devoted to their art. Here's an interesting essay telling us why a national poetry month is a bad idea.

I'm not a poet, just a humble blogger. But I think poetry month is a good thing, to remind those of us who sometimes get too caught up in daily routines and our personal lives that we can expand our limits with a little poetry.