Farewell to April and an early hello to May! Chances are that you’ve heard the familiar rhyme, “April showers bring May flowers.” Well, the flowers came early this year and it’s been lovely – although my tulips are already spent, and that always makes me a little bit sad. How about you?

I find the idea of Poetry Month, like tulips, both encouraging and discouraging. It’s great to celebrate poetry, but I worry that sometimes we do it only in the month of April. It’s definitely an important literary form, deserving of attention all year long! (Of course we should look for opportunities to explore Black History, Women’s History, etc. more frequently than just the days that can be found on one calendar page, too – right?)

Speaking of a small amount of recognition given to a rather large realm - I give you Earth Day. That’s right – Earth DAY. I totally applaud the focus and attention that this event recently received in classrooms, day care centers, homes, etc. and encourage each of us to see what we can do to think about, plan for, and take action that will cumulatively make a difference for our planet (and by extension, ourselves and our plant and animal neighbors).

One of the aspects of Earth that particularly fascinates me rocks – literally. I am pretty crazy about rocks and like to spend time looking at, touching, thinking about, and photographing them. Perhaps you would enjoy my poem “Earth Music” found in the Original Poetry section. I have worked on that one on and off for four or five years. Sometimes poems, like rocks, take more time than you might think!

Three very poetic and green cheers to you and yours!