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Friday, February 13, 2009

POETRY FRIDAY

A valentine poem by one of my all-time favorite poets (and writers) Naomi Shihab Nye.

"A Valentine for Ernest Mann"
Naomi Shihab Nye

You can't order a poem like you order a taco
walk up to the counter, say, "I'll take two" 
and expect it to be handed back to you
on a shiny plate.

Still, I like your spirit.
Anyone who says, "Here's my address, 
write me a poem," deserves something in reply. 
So I'll tell you a secret instead: 
poems hide, In the bottoms of our shoes,
they are sleeping. They are the shadows
drifting across our ceilings the moment 
before we wake up. What we have to do 
is live in a way that lets us find them. 

The rest of the poem is here.

POETRY FRIDAY IS AT BIG A little a

2 comments:

Mary Lee said...

Oops. The round up is at Big A little a:

http://kidslitinformation.blogspot.com/2009/02/poetry-friday-here.html

I let her know about your post. Sorry for the confusion.

Andromeda Jazmon said...

Nye doesn't even have to reinvent them, (the things life gives us) she just lets them fly. Thanks for this!