Poets Forum by Dennis Patton WE’RE ALL POETS AT HEART HOW I FIND THE WORDS
In 1996, the Academy of American Poets established April as National Poetry Month. Governor Hutchinson has designated April 10, 2021, as Arkansas Youth Poetry Day and Poets’ Roundtable of Arkansas has designated April 10, 2021, as the Dr. Lily Peter Spring Celebration of poetry. This edition is dedicated to all poets.
Some folks think of poets as quite a strange lot – hopeless romantics, eccentrics and whatnots.
But we all seek to find just the right greeting card; with a poem that rhymes— we’re all poets, at heart!
— Mike Pafundi
Deceased
POETRY MUSIC OF THOUGHT
Insight contemplation serenade through cadenced, rhythmed phrases roundelays of imagery
— Pat Laster Benton
I threw a stone into a dug well At Grandma’s home place.
Far down to bottom,
To water, and to resounding Gurgle lapping against stone walls, And I stood spellbound
As echoes vibrated
Along walls
Back to my ears.
Poetry in sound.
To find a word and continue My poem, I thought
Of that well, how stone splashed, Then gurgled.
I remember how it resonated From side to side when I leaned Over the opening and said
Silly words, high pitched,
Or in deepest bass
A boy of ten could.
Then it came to me.
In writing poetry, throw a word Into the poem like a stone
Into that well.
There is a moment of waiting, Listening, feeling, sensing,
Until it reaches bottom.
As it splashes emotions, Inflection of voice rolls
Each word over an eager tongue. A spiritual sense can listen
For proper echo. A warm sound Caresses heart and soul
Imitating voice and well.
It resonates.
It is then I write on, Closing the well,
Until I search
For another word. of his love poem today.
— Dennis Patton Alexander
We who pursue the art of poetry we who paint with words are seldom called artists except by other poets.
Recognizing the tantalizing task of selecting proper words and fitting them side by side, we hide unspoken lonely hours behind the power of pride in our finished pictures.
If our poems appear to have been born whole with no unnecessary words, we wear our laurel crowns with quiet dignity.
— Verna Lee Hinegardner Former Poet Laureate
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To submit poems for publication, please send poems of 16 or fewer lines to Dennis Patton, 2512 Springhill Circle, Alexander, AR 72002, or patton_dr@hotmail.com.