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I can still picture it. It was fourth-grade, and it was one of those first glorious warm days of springtime.
The kind where the sun is streaming in, the world feels alive, and us fourth graders could not sit still. So, finally, my teacher made the (rather wise…) decision to have us do our English lesson outside that day. Was there anything better than a class outside kind-of-day?
That day we were presenting a favorite poem to the class. We found our way to our school’s little outdoor amphitheater, and with the courage of the sun at my back, I got up and read a poem from Shel Silverstein’s book, Where the Sidewalk Ends.
“Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me too
Never returned to the world they knew,
And nobody
Knows what’s
Happened to
Dear Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me too.”
Once I uttered that last stanza, I knew right there and then… I loved poetry.
It’s followed me all my life so far. I love when I stumble upon a good poem. A poem that makes me stop for a moment in this world that feels so rushed and feel something.
In celebration of World Poetry Day, here are some of my favorites.
#1: “Dreams” by Langston Hughes
Favorite verse: “Hold fast to dreams/ For if dreams die/ Life is a broken-winged bird/That cannot fly”
#2: “Timeless” by Rupi Kaur
Favorite verse: “my twenties are the warm-up/for what i’m really about to do/wait till you see me in my thirties/now that will be a proper introduction/to the nasty. wild. woman in me.“
#2: “The Words Left Unspoken” by Allie Michelle
Favorite verse: “I hope you’re brave in painting your own path.”
#3: “courage is contagious” by Morgan Harper Nichols (spoken word)
Favorite verse: Whenever we start to feel/ like we can’t be stronger any longer,/ may we remember the generations coming after us./ May we remember that when we find the strength/ to cultivate courage, that courage is contagious.”
#4: “Invitation” by Shel Silverstein
Favorite verse(s): “If you are a dreamer, come in”
#5: “What We Carry” by Amanda Gorman
Favorite verse(s): “For what do we carry if not who and what we care most for?”
#6: “The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver
Favorite verse: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do/ with your one wild and precious life?”
#7: “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou
Favorite verse: “The caged bird sings/ with a fearful trill / of things unknown/ but longed for still/ and his tune is heard/ on the distant hill/for the caged bird/ sings of freedom.”
#9: “lessons from earth” by Rachel H
Favorite verse: “the wildflowers taught me/ to grow with perseverance/ and bloom with grace.”
#9: “You Are A Miracle” by Nikita Gill
Favorite verse: “You see that same thing that has made the beautiful night sky, with all its diamond stars, with its luminous moon, with the millions of solar systems and galaxies that exist side by side, also thought that you were a brilliant idea.”
#10: “i have been a thousand different women” by Emory Hall
Favorite verse: “for they are/ the rivers/of wisdom/ leading you toward/ the sea”
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Celebrating World Poetry Day: Poetry as Gentle Life Reminders