National Poetry Month was created by the Academy of American Poets in April of 1996 to celebrate the critical role that poetry plays in our culture and to declare that poetry matters. This has grown into a major literary celebration around the globe, captivating millions of readers, writers, poets, students, librarians, and much more every year!

Here are some of my favorite poems this month: 

Night Was Done  by Mikhail Kuzmin (1921)

Night was done. We rose and after

Washing, dressing,–kissed with laugher,–

After all, the sweet night knows.

Lilac breakfast caps were clinking

While we sat like brothers drinking 

Tea,–and kept our dominoes

And our dominoes smile greeting,

And our eyes avoided meeting

With our dumb lips’ secrecy

“Faust” we sang, we played, denying

Night’s strange memories, strangely dying,

As though night’s twain were not we

(poets.org)

The Look  by Sara Teasdale (1918)

Strephon kissed in the spring

Robin in the fall,

But Colin only looked at me

And never kissed at all.

Strephon’s kiss was lost in jest,

Robin’s lost in play, 

But the kiss in Colin’s eyes 

Haunts me night and day

To My Valentine by Ogden Nash (1931)

More than a catbird hates a cat,

Or a criminal hates a clue,

Or the Axis hates the United States,

That’s how much I love you.

I love you more than a duck can swim,

And more than a grapefruit squirts,

I love you more than gin rummy is a bore,

And more than a toothache hurts

As a shipwrecked sailor hates the sea,

Or a juggler hates a shove,

As a hostess detest unexpected guests,

That’s how much you I love

I love you more than a wasp can sting,

And more than a subway jerks,

I love you as much as a beggar needs a crutch,

And more than a hangnail irks.

I swear to you by the stars above,

And below, if such there be,

As the High Court loathes perjurious oaths,

That’s how you’re loved by me.

Here are some of the poems I’ve written this month:

Mother by  Kathryne Forbes

Made bone and womb

Only you could know me in my tomb

Torn from me much too soon

How can I live without you, too?

Ending our time with grey and blue

Reaching, I’ll be, to be carried by you.

My Hair!  by Kathryne Forbes

A girl with long, luscious hair

Had a brother with a mischievous dare

When her hair fell out

She let out a shout

Her shampoo was mixed with Nair!