Thursday, May 07, 2009

poetry by hand

By Hand: Lines for Mother's Day

"I didn't care about the gift. / It was the note I wanted, / the salt from his hand, / the words," admits a woman awaiting a Mother's Day package from her son away at war, in Frances Richey's poem "Letters."

There is no substitute for the intimacy of a handwritten note, no gift as singular as words carefully considered and chosen. Like a fingerprint, handwriting can identify its owner, even mood and intention can be revealed in the bends and crosses of letters, hidden in the slant of cursive.

This Mother's Day, choose meaningful lines from a poem, pick out a blank card, take a quiet moment and a smooth pen, and write with your heart in your hand. Find six lovely blank cards and a selection of lines about motherhood by E. E. Cummings, Mark Doty, Sharon Olds, Robert Duncan, Walt Whitman, Anne Sexton, and many others, on Poets.org.

On the web at: www.poets.org/byhand



If one of the many selections does not suit you, feel free to compose your own!

For instructions on how to write your own sherku form of haiku, check here


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