April is poetry month (BY DANIELLE)

 T.S. Eliot famously said that “April is the cruellest month, breeding/Lilacs out of the dead
land, mixing/ Memory and desire, stirring/ Dull roots with spring rain.”
I do not know whether the various poets’ associations decided that this makes April the
right month to be poetry month, but finding the ability to see, hear and feel poetry during
what can be a very challenging time may be what we all need right now.
Last week, for some unknown reason, perhaps because the sun came out and I could
almost feel my fingers, I decided to plant a few pansies in pots. Of course, the
temperature dropped and the plants drooped and looked like last week’s salad in the
back of the fridge. But I did not throw them out. I left them to their own devices. And lo
and behold, they have revived and are turning their faces to any ray of sun that passes
by.
Being the nerd that I am, I went in search of poems that mention pansies (or pensées –
thoughts -- because the French is far more poetic and gives the flowers their poetic
significance. When you give someone pansies, you are saying “I am thinking of you.”) It
turns out that there are innumerable poems that are about or that mention pansies. And
some are quite lovely. So here is my poetry month challenge for walkers who want to
celebrate poetry month. Find a flower, a tree, a bird, or anything in nature that you
enjoy, google it with the word “poem” and see what appears. Or even better, write your
own poem containing that image. It will make you and the day feel different.