Muse of Poetry by Alphonse Mucha, file courtesy of wikimedia commons

A good friend informed me that it is National Poetry Day in the UK today.  It’s a long time until April, so one might as well enjoy a day while waiting for the month, therefore happy National Poetry Day to you all, UK denizen or otherwise.  This year’s theme is ‘Remember,’ and if you’re interested in finding out what they’ve got planned to celebrate in the UK, here are a few handy resources for you:

National Poetry Day’s Twitter, @PoetryDayUK
Official event pages from the Forward Arts Foundation and The Poetry Society
Nice opinion piece from the Guardian on “Why poetry belongs to us all.”

It looks like they’re taking the ‘remembering’ theme both ways–‘which poems do you remember by heart?’  and also ‘poems with a theme of remembrance.’  As sometimes happens in autumn I’m feeling a bit sentimental today, so here’s a snippet of a poem I’ve been working on, remembering my grandmother.

Anne Rita Carter

Nana’s Bathrobe
by Meg Winikates

Could probably use a wash by now,
but I’d rather inhale last year’s
germs than lose you again,
curious scent of cookies and
old cotton, the bath powder you
opened with a gleeful
“Won’t I stink pretty?”

A sentiment I never understood
until I wrapped myself in fuzzy blue,
years after your last hug.