The Wonder Project :: Read a Poem

Instructions for living a life.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.  

–Mary Oliver in “Sometimes.”

If reading books is like walking through a doorway, then reading poems is like flinging wide every window in the house so that the Spirit can flow through.  Poems are tiny gifts.  A few words to set your mind and heart on fire.  Tiny, homeopathic doses of wonder!  These are three of my favorite ways to add a bit of poetry to my day.

The Writer’s Almanac

Garrison Keillor’s slow, thoughtful voice is just made for reading poems.  A few interesting facts to set each day in its historical context and then a good poem.  It’s a perfect way to expand a few minutes into a mini-retreat.  Pour a cup of tea and settle in.  Or, you can get just the poems in the Good Poems collection, either in print or on audio.

Poetry Friday

If you want to peek into some of the smartest, most creative people on the internet, look no further than Poetry Friday.  This link up is open to all but is rich in kid lit specialists–writers, teachers, librarians, homeschool mamas.  I learned about it from Karen Edmisten and Melissa Wiley.  And it’s a practice that I’m always returning to.

15 Words Or Less

Talk about homeopathic doses of poetry!  Laura Purdie Salas invited her readers to contemplate a photograph and then try a their hand at a first draft.  People leave their poems in the comment box…and comment on others.  It is never a disappointment to see the prompt spun into poetry gold.  And it helps to keep your own poetry muscles in fighting trim!