April Is: National Poetry Month
@april-is.bsky.social
A poem a day for National Poetry Month, no muss, no fuss. https://april-is.tumblr.com/
Saying farewell to another April of #poetry with my best beloved Ada Limón:
"Look, we are not unspectacular things. /
We’ve come this far, survived this much. / [...]
What if we stood up with our synapses and flesh and said, No."
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7823134...
"Look, we are not unspectacular things. /
We’ve come this far, survived this much. / [...]
What if we stood up with our synapses and flesh and said, No."
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7823134...
April 30, 2025: Dead Stars, Ada Limón
Dead Stars
Ada Limón
Out here, there’s a bowing even the trees are doing.
Winter’s icy hand at the back of all of us.
Black bark, slick yellow leaves, a kind of stillness that...
april-is.tumblr.com
May 1, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Saying farewell to another April of #poetry with my best beloved Ada Limón:
"Look, we are not unspectacular things. /
We’ve come this far, survived this much. / [...]
What if we stood up with our synapses and flesh and said, No."
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7823134...
"Look, we are not unspectacular things. /
We’ve come this far, survived this much. / [...]
What if we stood up with our synapses and flesh and said, No."
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7823134...
The poet: "This poem articulates my belief that grief isn’t a dead thing; it’s very much alive and continues to shape how I grow and live in this world. This #poem says: healing is forever, another world is possible, and no nation will protect us, only we will.”
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7822194...
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7822194...
april-is.tumblr.com
April 30, 2025 at 4:53 PM
The poet: "This poem articulates my belief that grief isn’t a dead thing; it’s very much alive and continues to shape how I grow and live in this world. This #poem says: healing is forever, another world is possible, and no nation will protect us, only we will.”
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7822194...
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7822194...
Did you know Louise Erdrich's sister is a poet, too? I didn't!
Always a sucker for a good dog #poem.
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7820208...
Always a sucker for a good dog #poem.
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7820208...
April 27, 2025: De'an, Heid E. Erdrich
De'an
Heid E. Erdrich
Dogs so long with us we forget
that wolves allowed as how
they might be tamed and sprang up
all over the globe, with all humans,
all at once, like a good idea.
So we tamed our.....
april-is.tumblr.com
April 27, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Did you know Louise Erdrich's sister is a poet, too? I didn't!
Always a sucker for a good dog #poem.
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7820208...
Always a sucker for a good dog #poem.
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7820208...
"God, let me keep what I love. / Peaches, cheap. Books, brilliant—"
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7819051...
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7819051...
April 26, 2025: Butter, Olive Oil, Flour, Lucia Cherciu
Butter, Olive Oil, Flour
Lucia Cherciu
Even the grocery list is a love poem, a prayer—
God, let me keep what I love.
Peaches, cheap. Books, brilliant—
mine so I can underline.
How aromatic the...
april-is.tumblr.com
April 26, 2025 at 8:16 PM
"God, let me keep what I love. / Peaches, cheap. Books, brilliant—"
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7819051...
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7819051...
A juicy one for you tonight: rhyme and rhythm and that ending, phew.
a remix for remembrance, Kristiana Rae Colón
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7818559...
a remix for remembrance, Kristiana Rae Colón
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7818559...
april-is.tumblr.com
April 26, 2025 at 3:03 AM
A juicy one for you tonight: rhyme and rhythm and that ending, phew.
a remix for remembrance, Kristiana Rae Colón
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7818559...
a remix for remembrance, Kristiana Rae Colón
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7818559...
American Sonnet for the New Year, Terrance Hayes:
"things got terribly ugly incredibly quickly /
things got ugly embarrassingly quickly"
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7817428...
"things got terribly ugly incredibly quickly /
things got ugly embarrassingly quickly"
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7817428...
april-is.tumblr.com
April 24, 2025 at 8:57 PM
American Sonnet for the New Year, Terrance Hayes:
"things got terribly ugly incredibly quickly /
things got ugly embarrassingly quickly"
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7817428...
"things got terribly ugly incredibly quickly /
things got ugly embarrassingly quickly"
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7817428...
Staircase
I trip on the title,
clumsy as I am, and
topple down the first few
(This one tickles me; I am tickled.)
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7816631...
I trip on the title,
clumsy as I am, and
topple down the first few
(This one tickles me; I am tickled.)
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7816631...
april-is.tumblr.com
April 23, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Staircase
I trip on the title,
clumsy as I am, and
topple down the first few
(This one tickles me; I am tickled.)
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7816631...
I trip on the title,
clumsy as I am, and
topple down the first few
(This one tickles me; I am tickled.)
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7816631...
This stopped me in my tracks with how specific it feels to current events. But of course its point is just the opposite.
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7815399...
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7815399...
April 22, 2025: Meanwhile the Watermelon Seed, Idra Novey
Meanwhile the Watermelon Seed
Idra Novey
On Tuesday, new prisoners arrive.
In late fall, when leaves clog the gutters and their last colors go out like stars, new prisoners arrive.
As another plane...
april-is.tumblr.com
April 22, 2025 at 3:15 PM
This stopped me in my tracks with how specific it feels to current events. But of course its point is just the opposite.
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7815399...
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7815399...
There should be many more poems with Dunkin' Donuts in them. An Improvement in Stairs, Mairead Small Staid:
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7814874...
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7814874...
April 21, 2025: An Improvement in Stairs, Mairead Small Staid
An Improvement in Stairs
Mairead Small Staid
Through the oculus of the bus terminal at Boston’s South Station, light falls
for a hundred feet. A shock, a god, a pillar of light, like that of the...
april-is.tumblr.com
April 22, 2025 at 1:17 AM
There should be many more poems with Dunkin' Donuts in them. An Improvement in Stairs, Mairead Small Staid:
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7814874...
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7814874...
#Poem in the Shape of the Poet Beating Henry Kissinger to Death with Their Bare Hands: april-is.tumblr.com/post/7813730...
April 20, 2025: Poem in the Shape of the Poet Beating Henry Kissinger to Death with Their Bare Hands, Felix Lecocq
Poem in the Shape of the Poet Beating Henry Kissinger to Death with Their Bare Hands
Felix Lecocq
--
(Today's poem is shared as an image, and includes a transcription of the poem as alt text. If...
april-is.tumblr.com
April 20, 2025 at 7:02 PM
#Poem in the Shape of the Poet Beating Henry Kissinger to Death with Their Bare Hands: april-is.tumblr.com/post/7813730...
Maybe it's my age. Or my personal fixations on time and memory. But wow, this one packs a punch.
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7812930... #poem #poetry
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7812930... #poem #poetry
April 19, 2025: spring, Safia Elhillo
spring
Safia Elhillo
After Louise Glück
it’s late now, it’s early, no way
to know which season it is
of the total years of my life,
weren’t we only just nineteen,
tonya & i, wasn’t she only...
april-is.tumblr.com
April 19, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Maybe it's my age. Or my personal fixations on time and memory. But wow, this one packs a punch.
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7812930... #poem #poetry
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7812930... #poem #poetry
I want a president, Zoe Leonard - Amazing when something can be such an important snapshot of a moment in time -- 1992 -- and still feel desperately fresh and relevant.
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7812010...
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7812010...
april-is.tumblr.com
April 19, 2025 at 9:41 PM
I want a president, Zoe Leonard - Amazing when something can be such an important snapshot of a moment in time -- 1992 -- and still feel desperately fresh and relevant.
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7812010...
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7812010...
More poems about time machines, please. april-is.tumblr.com/post/7811199...
april-is.tumblr.com
April 18, 2025 at 1:53 PM
More poems about time machines, please. april-is.tumblr.com/post/7811199...
Sorrows - "who would believe them winged /
who would believe they could be /
beautiful who would believe /
they could fall so in love with mortals"
Lucille Clifton, always [chef's kiss]. april-is.tumblr.com/post/7808438...
who would believe they could be /
beautiful who would believe /
they could fall so in love with mortals"
Lucille Clifton, always [chef's kiss]. april-is.tumblr.com/post/7808438...
April 14, 2025: Sorrows, Lucille Clifton
Sorrows
Lucille Clifton
who would believe them winged
who would believe they could be
beautiful who would believe
they could fall so in love with mortals
that they would attach themselves
as.....
april-is.tumblr.com
April 15, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Sorrows - "who would believe them winged /
who would believe they could be /
beautiful who would believe /
they could fall so in love with mortals"
Lucille Clifton, always [chef's kiss]. april-is.tumblr.com/post/7808438...
who would believe they could be /
beautiful who would believe /
they could fall so in love with mortals"
Lucille Clifton, always [chef's kiss]. april-is.tumblr.com/post/7808438...
I love poems that capture the feeling of being a child, the complexity/simplicity of the child mind. april-is.tumblr.com/post/7807703...
April 13, 2025: Book of Zippers, Luci Arbus-Scandiffio
Book of Zippers
Luci Arbus-Scandiffio
When I was a child
I was always touching something
the crease in the wall
the crease in the man’s face
a button to the umbrella
which I broke by pressing
thirty.....
april-is.tumblr.com
April 14, 2025 at 10:12 PM
I love poems that capture the feeling of being a child, the complexity/simplicity of the child mind. april-is.tumblr.com/post/7807703...
Such tenderness in this one.
Instead of Depression, Andrea Gibson:
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7806791...
Instead of Depression, Andrea Gibson:
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7806791...
April 12, 2025: Instead of Depression, Andrea Gibson
Instead of Depression
Andrea Gibson
try calling it hibernation.
Imagine the darkness is a cave
in which you will be nurtured
by doing absolutely nothing.
Hibernating animals don’t even dream.
It’s...
april-is.tumblr.com
April 14, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Such tenderness in this one.
Instead of Depression, Andrea Gibson:
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7806791...
Instead of Depression, Andrea Gibson:
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7806791...
A somewhat sacrilegious catechism: Conversation with Mary, Gabrielle Bates
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7805848...
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7805848...
April 11, 2025: Conversation with Mary, Gabrielle Bates
Conversation with Mary
Gabrielle Bates
What language did the angel speak
My most private language
Was the angel fluent
Nuances were lost
Where did the....
april-is.tumblr.com
April 14, 2025 at 3:19 AM
A somewhat sacrilegious catechism: Conversation with Mary, Gabrielle Bates
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7805848...
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7805848...
Tin Bucket by Jenny George. One I want to keep rereading, to try to pick apart.
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7804839... #nationalpoetrymonth #poetry
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7804839... #nationalpoetrymonth #poetry
April 10, 2025: Tin Bucket, Jenny George
Tin Bucket
Jenny George
The world is not simple.
Anyone will tell you.
But have you ever washed a person’s hair
over a tin bucket,
gently twisting the rope of it
to wring the water out?
At the end of....
april-is.tumblr.com
April 11, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Tin Bucket by Jenny George. One I want to keep rereading, to try to pick apart.
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7804839... #nationalpoetrymonth #poetry
april-is.tumblr.com/post/7804839... #nationalpoetrymonth #poetry
"An astronaut and a samurai fall in love. /
They write each other /
haiku and billet-doux /
via time capsule."
kami/kaze : a correspondence, Ng Yi-Sheng - april-is.tumblr.com/post/7803896...
They write each other /
haiku and billet-doux /
via time capsule."
kami/kaze : a correspondence, Ng Yi-Sheng - april-is.tumblr.com/post/7803896...
april-is.tumblr.com
April 10, 2025 at 2:47 PM
"An astronaut and a samurai fall in love. /
They write each other /
haiku and billet-doux /
via time capsule."
kami/kaze : a correspondence, Ng Yi-Sheng - april-is.tumblr.com/post/7803896...
They write each other /
haiku and billet-doux /
via time capsule."
kami/kaze : a correspondence, Ng Yi-Sheng - april-is.tumblr.com/post/7803896...
Somehow my first time sending Robert Bly. The second-to-last line lives rent free in my head.
The Resemblance Between Your Life and a Dog: april-is.tumblr.com/post/7801794...
#poetry #nationalpoetrymonth #napomo
The Resemblance Between Your Life and a Dog: april-is.tumblr.com/post/7801794...
#poetry #nationalpoetrymonth #napomo
april-is.tumblr.com
April 7, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Somehow my first time sending Robert Bly. The second-to-last line lives rent free in my head.
The Resemblance Between Your Life and a Dog: april-is.tumblr.com/post/7801794...
#poetry #nationalpoetrymonth #napomo
The Resemblance Between Your Life and a Dog: april-is.tumblr.com/post/7801794...
#poetry #nationalpoetrymonth #napomo