Glorious Stories

The month of April is National Poetry Month in the U.S, and this year for the first time I have enough ducks in a row to be able to celebrate it properly!

Reading Shel Silverstein by lamplight after bedtime started what would become a lifelong love of poetry for me. Allured by the clever wordplay and inventive imagery, I came to understand that regardless of form, style, language, or era, poetry is–at it’s heart–storytelling. Whether the poems I read were lengthy ballads of great heroes, or rhythmic explosions of emotive free verse, each one had a story to tell. Creative, succinct, powerful.

I was captivated.

And I have remained so to this day.

So in honor of National Poetry Month, I am diving headlong into sharing the poems I’ve loved the best! On my Instagram and Facebook accounts, you’ll find me sharing my original work–some of which was published in my Fleeting Dreams poetry collection, and some of which has never before been released. Meanwhile on this blog, I will release two posts dedicated to celebrating some of my favorite poems from across literature and music. Come along with me and maybe discover some poems you’ll enjoy–and share your favorites also! I’d love to know which poets have impacted you.

Six Favorite Poems

A note: in this entry, I’ll be focusing my attention on poems that were written as poems first–thus some of my top favorite poets such as Robin Pecknold and Vashti Bunyan will not be included in this post, as their spotlight will come in the next, when I feature poems written as song lyrics.

6) Masks, Shel Silverstein

“She had blue skin,

and so did he

he kept it hid,

and so did she

They searched for blue

their whole life through

then passed right by–

and never knew.

This poem by Shel Silverstein made me sad when I read it as a child. I felt somehow that I knew exactly what he was talking about, because I (like many people) felt a bit different from everyone else. The fact that two people who had looked for each other all their lives could pass by because they were not willing to be honest about themselves was a sobering thought. Openness can be painful, but you cannot expect to make real connections and learn to love and be loved without daring to be real yourself.

5) A Walking Song, J.R.R. Tolkien

Still round the corner there may wait

a new road, or secret gate

and though I oft have passed them by,

a day will come at last when I

shall take the hidden paths that run

west of moon and east of sun.

Tolkien’s impact on my life cannot be understated. Like many people, I came a live to a whole new appreciation of literature and culture through his Middle Earth books. I love this poem of his because it appeals to my wanderulst–it seems I’m always dreaming of traveling down some new and wild path to adventure. It also, to me, hints at the heavenly journey the followers of Christ are to take when life is done, traversing at last into His Kingdom, our True Home.

4) Insomnia, Treesummer76

She often felt lonely

despite a crowded room

She liked to stay up late

and tell stories to the moon

She danced in what little light

the stars allowed to be seen,

and often kept herself awake

for the nighttime was but a dream.

This poem floated across my Pinterest homepage uncredited, so I had to hunt it down and find out who had penned this eloquent portrait. Treesummer76 is not the name I expected to find attached to it, but there you have it. This talented contemporary poet has many beautiful, emotional poems that stem from raw emotion and lived experience. In this poem, I see myself, or a kindred spirit, and it is one that strikes me every time I read it.

3) If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking, Emily Dickinson

If I can stop one heart from breaking

I shall not live in vain

If I can ease one life the aching,

or cool one in pain,

or help one fainting robin

into his nest again,

I shall not live in vain.

The kindness and generosity in Emily’s words are inspiring; I wish to be as tenderhearted and compassionate as the speaker is in these lines. Like many of the poems I love, this one also has an aching kind of sadness, because you cannot help but feel that the speaker is beset with the very sadness and pain she seeks to alleviate in others, but who knows whether her pain can be eased in return.

2) A Stranger, Lang Leav

There is a love I reminisce,

like a seed

I’ve never sown

Or lips that I’ve yet to kiss,

and eyes not met my own

hands that wrap around my wrists

and arms that feel like home

I wonder how it is I miss

these things I’ve never known.

This is another poem in which I see myself; I too am a romantic soul who yearns for love and connection. I have never been in a relationship, never kissed or held hands with anyone, but the dream of it has been so present throughout my life that it is almost like a memory. The way this sentiment is worded here is so very personal and precious, and I am thankful that the poet chose to share it.

1) August, Francis Ledwidge

She’ll come at dusky first of day

white over yellow harvest’ song;

upon her dewy rainbow way,

she shall be beautiful and strong

The lidless eye of noon shall spray

tan on her ankles in the hay,

shall kiss her brown the whole day long

I’ll know her in the windows,

tall above the crickets of the hay,

I’ll know her when her odd eyes fall,

one May-blue, one November gray.

I’ll watch her from the red barn wall,

take up her rusty scythe and call,

and I will follow her away

The imagery in this poem by Irish poet Francis Ledwidge is fascinating to me. One of a few poems he wrote and named for months of the year, August‘s vivid descriptions and metaphors paint a magical picture in the mind, cryptic yet meaningful, and I cannot get enough of it. Ledwidge’s poetry is some of the best I’ve ever read, and it has influenced me in many ways.

And there you have it! I had quite a hard time narrowing this selection down to six–only six–poems! There are so many wonderful pieces that I go over and over, but to share them all would shift the focus of this blog entirely. For now, I hope you enjoyed these poems, and are encouraged to continue reading and enjoying poetry in your own way this month!

What are some of your favorite poems? Have you written any yourself? Drop a quote below and let’s chat about what we love!

–Emmarayn

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Tune in on March 15th for Six More Favorite Poems: Lyric Edition!