Violets are not blue

Apparently April is National Poetry Month.

I confess I wouldn't have any idea what National Month we are in, except that I work in a library and finding out such things seems to be an occupational hazard. Oh well, you take the bad with the good.

I am not a poet. And am, in point of fact, quite easily annoyed by poetry.

Poetry bothers me in the same way that fine art bothers me.
I do not know enough about what's good,
what's bad,
what's classic,
what's contemporary,
what's edgy and whatever.
So my participating in an intelligent discussion is astronomically unlikely. I find this annoying.

The cliche, "I know what I like" is true of me in fine art and in poetry. And mostly what I like is Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein. As you can tell, I'm quite the connoisseur.

Now if you're a poet, plug your ears during this next part.

Poets themselves, tend to annoy me. Sometimes I think they TRY to be obscure and confusing in their work. I think they might actually enjoy that blank stare they get from most people after hearing their poetry. If they read one of their poems and the listener instantly 'get's the meaning, actually understands the point, then they've failed and it must be bad poetry. Because if it were a superior poem, no one would have the first clue what the hell it's about. It's this smug, arrogant sniff that turns me off.

This is not to say that I do not appreciate other people's love of poetry.
Just like I appreciate other people's love of dogs, just keep them off my property, off my leg and make sure they keep their fleas to themselves. No offense.

Okay, so I believe I've clearly established that I am no poet and I have very little appreciation for poetry. So I really have no reason to be celebrating National Poetry Month.... Or so I thought......

Because when I think about it more closely, I realize that my dislike for poems does not equal my love of lyrics. I love reading lyrics, quoting lyrics, posting lyrics here and there. And I think we'd all agree that a good majority of lyrics are poetry put to music.

So is it the musical part that softens my poetry hating spirit? Maybe.

Or maybe instead, when I hear verse set to music, as opposed to standing alone, I can feel the heart's cry in the lyrics. Cries of joy, jealously, grief, elation, longing. When put to music, the same exact words seems to speaks to me instead of aggravating me. It doesn't feel conceited, condescending and grating on my nerves with music attached. Is my soul savage and needing to be soothed by song? Yes, I think there is something to this. There is surely some deep, profound, difficult to understand philosophical reason why I love lyrics but do not like poems.

Maybe.

Or maybe .....

I just like lyrics better because they usually rhyme. Like Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein.

Anyway, in honor of National Poetry Month, or NPM as some of us call it, I am including here bits and pieces of some of my favorite lyrical poems:

Helplessly hoping her harlequin hovers nearby
Awaiting a word
Gasping at glimpses of gentle true spirit
He runs
Wishing he could fly
Only to trip at the sound of good-bye

Wordlessly watching he waits by the window
And wonders
At the empty place inside

Heartlessly helping himself to her bad dreams
He worries
Did he hear a good-bye
or even Hello

They are one person
They are too alone
They are three together
They are for each other

Helplessly Hoping:
Written and performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
___________________________________________

Once divided...nothing left to subtract...
Some words when spoken...can't be taken back...
Walks on his own...with thoughts he can't help thinking...
Future's above...but in the past he's slow and sinking...
Caught a bolt 'a lightnin'...cursed the day he let it go...
Nothingman... nothingman... isn't it something?
Nothingman...

She once believed...in every story he had to tell...
One day she stiffened...took the other side...
Empty stares...from each corner of a shared prison cell...
One just escapes...one's left inside the well...
And he who forgets...will be destined to remember...

Nothingman by Pearl Jam
___________________________________

Your day breaks, your mind aches
There will be time when all the things she said will fill your head
You won't forget her
And in her eyes you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years

For No One
from the Revolver album by The Beatles
___________________________________

She calls me just to talk
She's my lover, she's a friend of mine
She says Hey mister you wanna take a walk
In the wild west end sometime?

And I get trouble with my breathing
She says Boys don't know anything
But I know what I want
I want everything

Expresso Love (on Dire Straits' Alchemy album):
written by Mark Knopfler (and no, it's not about some guy with a crush on a nasty bikini barista.)

There are many many more.
Blackbird by the Beatles.
All Apologies by Nirvana.
Promises by Eric Clapton.

Happy NPM! Or is it Merry? Anyway....

Send me your favorite poem if you want to,

as long as it rhymes.....

and it's not about a dog. . . . .

( AND as long as it doesn't start with 'There once was a girl from.....')