that I'm sorry I was late
to my meeting this morning
except not that sorry.
I stopped to take some pictures
of the tomatoes in my yard.
They were so beautiful.
So small and green
and so flecked with
rainwater.
And the meeting
seemed so far away.
Ruth, at thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
That happened yesterday morning. I was only slightly late to my meeting - maybe a minute. And it wasn't an official school meeting, just a get-together with a couple of friends to pray before school on Thursdays. And look at my tomatoes:
On my way to that meeting, I was thinking wildly sentimental thoughts about why this was National Poetry Month and how growing things were like poems and how my tomatoes made me a lot happier than meetings. And all of that thinking led me to a more realistic poem about the effects of poetry on one's professional life, "To a Frustrated Poet." It begins like this:
To a Frustrated Poet
by R. J. Ellmann
This is to say
I know
You wish you were in the woods,
Living the poet life,
Not here at a formica topped table
In a meeting about perceived inequalities in the benefits and allowances offered to employees of this college.
And I too wish you were in the woods,
Because it's no fun having a frustrated poet
In the Dept. of Human Resources, believe me.
I posted it here, but if you follow the link in that post to find the end of the poem, you'll reach a dead end with a statement from Minnesota Public Radio (grrrrr, talk about a Frustrated Poet - that's what I become every time I follow a link to the old Writer's Almanac). So I found this link instead.
I have been enjoying all the extra poetry around this time of year, including the Progressive Poem. Here's a list of the places you can go to keep up with that:
April
1 Liz at Elizabeth Steinglass
2 Jane at Raincity Librarian
3 Laura at Writing the World for Kids
4 Michelle at Today's Little Ditty
5 Jan at bookseedstudio
6 Irene at Live Your Poem
7 Linda at TeacherDance
8 Janet F. at Live Your Poem
9 Ramona at Pleasures from the Page
10 Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme
11 Brenda at Friendly Fairy Tales
12 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink
13 Linda at A Word Edgewise
14 Heidi at my juicy little universe
15 Donna at Mainely Write
16 Sarah at Sarah Grace Tuttle
17 Ruth at There is no such thing as a Godforsaken town
18 Christie at Wondering and Wandering
19 Michelle at Michelle Kogan
20 Linda at Write Time
21 Robyn at Life on the Deckle Edge
22 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
23 Amy at The Poem Farm
24 Mary Lee at A Year of Reading
25 Kiesha at Whispers from the Ridge
26 Renee at No Water River
27 Buffy at Buffy's Blog
28 Kat at Kat's Whiskers
29 April at Teaching Authors
15 comments:
I, too, am sad about the Writer's Almanac being unavailable. I'm not sure why they have to do that, tbh.
It takes a pretty special meeting to compete with a tomato.
I have those 'saved poems' from the Writer's Almanac, too, Ruth, hoping I can find them when needed as you did. Your poem hits me, and although I love reading the posts, I would also like to be in the forest! Beautiful post with lots of smiles!
Wonderful post. Your tomato poem made me smile. I share your sadness about the WA -- it was such a great resource and I truly miss all those poems in the archive.
Very William Carlos Williams, and your tomatoes are very plum-like. Beautiful mentor poem. I do wish I could be in the woods in spring instead of looking out at a gray sky and a tumult of snow.
Your poem made me smile--and oh how wonderful to live in a land with tomatoes instead of snow in April! I miss the Writer's Almanac too....
I loved your "sort of" apology poem and the worldview that stops to enjoy the wonder of tomatoes growing in April. (Around here that would be miraculous!) I also enjoyed the poem To A Frustrated Poet. The ending lines made me laugh. Thanks for sharing.
Isn't it wonderful how much growing tomatoes can make you happy? Those silly plants become such an audience of mine in the summer as I water and tend them. They make me so happy too. How nice to have friends to pray with before school....to have a colleagues that you feel close enough to -- to do that. I thought of you at Easter Vigil. I'm hoping you felt the hallelujiah.
That poem about wishing to be in the woods is a hoot. Too funny and too true!
Both poems and your story fit so nicely together...and made me smile!
I love both of these poems! And those tomatoes are lovely. We're still covering the broccoli to protect them from more than usual late snows. I can relate to the frustrated poet as I've been swamped with a work project (even if it's from home) and have not enjoyed as much poetry as I would have liked this first week of National Poetry Month.
I am just so envious of your tomatoes at this point, as I stare out my window at my still snow-covered crocii. Two wonderful poems, lovely connection.
This is just to say that I, too, would rather photograph tomatoes than sit in a meeting! Your poem is wonderful, Ruth!
"except not that sorry" - love!
Your tomatoes were their own prayer.
Thank you for the link too - I am with you about the "Grr" when I miss TWA.
xx
Those tomatoes! So worth being late for. Loved your poem, Ruth. The other poem made me laugh as it reminded me of my former life as an HR representative... many, many moons and tomatoes ago.
I love your late poem due to your tomatoes–and what inspiring tomatoes you have–they are gorgeous and oozing with wonderful water, hope you enjoy eating them too, thanks!
I just love writing poems based on This is Just to Say... Thank you for the backstory and the frustrated poet poem.
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