[2022-03-21] World Poetry Day
Today is World Poetry Day, celebrated every year on March 21. Established by UNESCO, the day promotes the writing, publishing, teaching and reading of poetry.
I apply to poetry the advice that James Clear applies to books. Clear wrote: "Start more books. Quit most of them. Read the great ones twice." In a similar vein, I would say: "Peruse more poems. Abandon any that don't make you think or feel. Compile and read your personal favourites many times."
My collection of favourite poems includes "Do not go gentle into that good night" by Dylan Thomas, "If—" by Rudyard Kipling, "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost, "Phenomenal Woman" by Maya Angelou, "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae, "The Children’s Hour" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth, "Being Boring" by Wendy Cope.
On this World Poetry Day and the first full day of spring, I share this poem by Erin Hanson, whom I've quoted before (Being, What if you fly?):
Life is unpredictable,
It changes with the seasons,
Even your coldest winter
Happens for the best of reasons,
And though it feels eternal,
Like all you'll ever do is freeze,
I promise spring is coming,
And with it, brand new leaves
This poem seems particularly fitting to my current circumstances. Life—like health—is unpredictable. Even my coldest winter (starting with surgery in November, followed by radiation and recovery) happens for the best of reasons. Treatment, though it sometimes feels eternal, is being replaced by healing.
Some winters require more patience than others, but they all—inevitably—give way to spring.
