Poetry and "April Rain Song"

Currently reading: The Know-It-All by AJ Jacobs

Apparently there is a crazy cold front heading for South Texas.  The weather on the evening news said it was 55 in Amarillo and 85 or something in Abilene and everything south of it.  You could literally see the front coming on the map.  So all that by way of saying that we're to expect rain tomorrow.  We seem to be making up for a season's worth of rain in a few weeks.  

I was flipping through my current favorite children's poetry book (A Family of Poems by Caroline Kennedy) and found this lovely poem by Langston Hughes. 

April Rain Song

Let the rain kiss you.

Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.

Let the rain sing you a lullaby.

The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk.

The rain makes running pools in the gutter.

The rain plays a little sleep-song on our roof at night--

And I love the rain.

And I love this poem!  My 7-year-old nephew wrote a Haiku about the rain the other day.  My sister read it to me and it was really good!!  I've never been very good at writing poetry.  I'd like to be though, but I've simply always been more comfortable with prose.  When I was cleaning out the garage, I found an old book by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge that I never read: poemcrazy.  I love the subtitle: "freeing your life with words".  Anne Lamott, one of my favorite writers, writes of it "You're going to love it, and love writing poetry more for having read it." 

And finally, while I am in a poetic mood, you should all read my darling Katie's latest post.  She shares her favorite 11 poems and they are gems!  (At least the ones I've read--there are several I need to read.  But as a dedicated English major, Katie's poetic taste can surely be trusted.)

Upcoming posts:

The Journey That Saved Curious George

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

American Wife

A Walk with Jane Austen

And several others that I promised weeks ago...