National Poetry Month
April means that it is national poetry month!! Poetry to me is a time to slow down, listen closely, and make space for the creative voice within each of us. This month, we have the joy of hosting a poetry writing workshop with the help of Faye. Together, we’ve explored not only the elements of poetry, but also the vulnerability it takes to express and share something honest and personal. Creativity is both a gift and a practice, and its been a blessing to do alongside beloved community.
In our most recent class, we focused on blessings and odes. These are forms of poetry that ask us to pay attention to all that is around us that is worthy of our praise, gratitude, or wonder. It can reminds us that creativity is not just about producing something “good,” but simply about seeing the world with care and intention and highlighting those elements along the way.
In that spirit, we invite you to join us for our Open Mic Night on May 20th at 7 p.m., held at the church and online. Whether you’ve attended our class or are simply curious, you are welcome!! Come to read, to listen, or simply to be present. There is something powerful about gathering to celebrate creativity in all its forms. It reminds us that every voice matters, and that beauty often emerges when we make space for one another. An important part of what it means to be community is celebrating each other and our unique gifts.
As we prepare for our open mic night, you are invited to write your own ode or blessing. This could be to a person, a place, a moment, or even something small and easily overlooked. What might change if we chose to honor the ordinary, as well as the extraordinary?
We close with a blessing by Imtiaz Dharker, whose work beautifully captures struggle and grace and abundance:
Blessing
The skin cracks like a pod.
There never is enough water.
Imagine the drip of it,
the small splash, echo
in a tin mug,
the voice of a kindly god.
Sometimes, the sudden rush
of fortune. The municipal pipe bursts,
silver crashes to the ground
and the flow has found
a roar of tongues. From the huts,
a congregation: every man woman
child for streets around
butts in, with pots,
brass, copper, aluminum,
plastic buckets,
frantic hands,
and naked children
screaming in the liquid sun,
their highlights polished to perfection,
flashing light,
as the blessing sings
over their small bones.
—Imtiaz Dharker
Imtiaz Dharker is a Pakistani-Scottish poet, writer and artist. She lives in London and Mumbai, writes in English. In her poetry she takes on topics such as homeland, freedom and travel in an imaginative and questioning way and points to cultural and geographical conflicts within society and gender politics, which has brought her the 2014 Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry and the Cholmondeley Award.