William Stafford Brings It All Together

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Mary Lee Hahn, at A Year of Reading, poet extraordinaire of the spare poem that says so much.  Thank you Mary Lee!

The March Slice of Life Challenge- 29 of 31 
           

      Tweet at #Slice2013

       And for two more days after this, slicers who’ve written and supported and read and commented for (now) 29 days, will stop, and return to their routines of regular life, a little weary, but very proud and thrilled at all that they learned, about themselves as writers and about others as a community.  It was a terrific month.

       Poets in the kidlitosphere are readying for two days from now when it’s APRIL, not the cruelest month, but the loveliest-POETRY MONTH!   You can see to the right of this page that Irene Latham at Live Your Poem is again hosting a progressive poem during the month.  You can read the lively and interesting poem that was created last year here.  It will be great fun to see what quirky words happen this time.

        If you’d like to see more of the spectacular happenings occurring in April, check out Jama Rattigan’s blog, Jama’s Alphabet Soup.  I think she’ll be adding to the list as she finds out more, so keep checking in.

        And, if you’ve followed along with the March Madness Poetry competition, it is coming to an end.  Right now, today, you can vote for your favorite poem of the Final Four!  Here’s a link to the site, showing the words that those four who have dazzled us all with their poetry have to write from.  Thanks to Ed DiCaria who has put this wonderful event together, and to the Final Four poets: Renee M. LaTulippe, Cheryl Lawton Malone, M.M. Socks, and Dave Crawley.

           I believe I’ve found a poem to share today that fits each group, both creative groups who write and inspire and are hopeful and kind in their lives.   One of my favorite poets is William Stafford; I have shared more than one poem from him before.  This poem talks about community, a commonality that people share and carry, even as they go their separate ways.  Read and see if it fits the Slice of Life March challenge slicers and the Poetry Friday gatherers. 

        I hope you all find pleasure in the groups you choose, and hold onto the thread that keeps you feeling like a part of something!

The Way It Is

            William Stafford

There’s a thread you follow.  It goes among

things that change.  But it doesn’t change.

                 the rest of the poem can be found here.