A Prayer for Poets

 

Poetic Day 30 of National Poetry Month:  April 30, 2019, Tuesday

 

Confetti!  Cheers for all who have participated in National Poetry Month by reading, writing, and/or sharing poems during this month of April!  Thanks to each of you–what a successful salute to poetry this month has been!

 

For facilitating the reading of today’s poem, I will share a historical note with you.  Saint David of Wales–whose feast day is March 1, the day of his death in the year 589–was a Welsh priest and bishop who became a patron saint of poets.  For my final post for National Poetry Month of 2019, I am sharing with you a poem-of-the-day in the form of a prayer.  For the final set of five NPM writing prompts, check the closing of this WORDWALK post.

 

 

A Prayer for Poets

 

poem by Alice Jane-Marie Massa

 

 

Throughout this April Parade of Poets

and through all four poetic seasons of the year,

please, dear Lord, bless the poets

whose words and  rhymes

build for readers a home of hope,

provide a poetic pillow where we can rest,

throw us poetic balls with which we can play,

squeeze poetically sweet and sour juices for our toasts to life,

gather us into comforting gardens and meadows,

allow us perspective from the tallest tree or a mountain peak,

encourage us to be bold and persevere,

set the sail toward gentle forgiveness,

underscore the ultimate goal of understanding,

echo the whispers of love,

stimulate our flight of fancy,

catch a cloud for both our youthful and aging dreams.

 

God bless the poets’ hands

that write and type from morning to midnight.

Heavenly Father, bless the computers

of the high-tech and low-tech poets.

Saint David of Wales,

bless the poets’ minds

so that positive and wonderful ideas

will float over writers’ desks

as confetti and fortune cookies.

Dear Lord, bless the poets’ eyes

with an ability to translate vistas, seen or unseen,

into welcomed word portraits.

Saint David, bless the hearts of poets

so that these poets may mirror

the emotions of masquerade

we embrace as life.

Finally, God bless poets, past,

whose pages we lovingly preserve,

and the poets, present and future,

whose poetry we will gratefully read.

 

* * *

 

WRITING PROMPTS FOR DAY 30 OF NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

 

1. Write your own poetic prayer for poets.
2. Write a poetic prayer for mothers (since Mother’s Day is near).
3. Write a poetic prayer for another group of individuals or for a particular group of animals.
4. Write a poem about being on Cloud Nine.
5. Write a poem about your poetic wishes and goals for the remainder of 2019.

 

NOTE:  With this final post of April, I am delighted to have met my goal of posting a new poem and five writing prompts for each weekday of National Poetry Month–totaling twenty-two poems of various types and themes, as well as 110 writing prompts.  I set forth this goal because of the example set by poet D.P. Lyons, whom I was privileged to know as a friend and with whom I was honored to collaborate on two poems. Recently, I was happy to learn that Maine’s Kennebec Valley Community College established the Deon Lyons Scholarship in memory of Deon.

 

* * *

 

This post and each WORDWALK post of National Poetry Month of 2019 is dedicated

in memory of Deon Patrick Lyons–

poet, novelist, blogger, and friend.

 

Until my next WORDWALK post on May 8, when I will return to weekly Wednesday posts,

many thanks for taking a WORDWALK with us each weekday of National Poetry Month!

Alice and Leader Dog Willow

 

April 30, 2019, Tuesday

 

 

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