Figments

This week our theme was based on the poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay First Fig and Second Fig. I hope everyone posts theirs! We got quite a variety. My contributions are below.

Next week come prepared with something related to The Love-Hat Relationship by Aaron Belz.

Third Fig

"Reap what you sow," it's said, and "Love

your neighbor as yourself."

Or you can reap his crop instead

for free food on your shelf.

Fourth Fig

From goals delayed anticipate

more joy eventually;

from chances taken now, instead,

you get great memories.

Zeroth Fig

A falling fig, obedient

to force Newtonian,

will travel down until it lands

and not go up again.

Poem in your Pocket

April 29 is national Poem in your Pocket day!
(and just in time for our thursday meetings, too.)
Take a copy of a poem with you to have, read, and share.

Club Business

We actually had a "meta" moment tonight and talked about the club itself. It was agreed that increasing our membership is a worthwhile objective as this would bring a greater diversity of poetic voices into our circle, so we brainstormed ways this could be brought about. The following are the ideas brainstormed:

• Have events
• Make fliers (e.g. readings for the public)
• Write in the "Notes" section of people's directories
• Food
• Poster of a poem
• Booklets in apartments (including the poems we've put on the blog, perhaps)
• Valentine poem deliveries on request
• Fundraiser (since clubs have fundraisers): custom poem delivery or something
• Read a poem at ward prayer
• Shirts
• Altoids (actual Altoids mints at our meetings)
• Make the club a part of the culture

There was also a suggestion to do a sort of collaborative poetry, in which lines are written by two authors alternately.

Next week Jhon is going to bring a prompt in the form of a photograph, which we will all respond to. Maybe we could put the photo up here for those following along at home?

Assignment #1: think about all of the ideas above and decide which ones are most deserving of implementation.

Assignment #2: come next week

Assignment #3: bring a friend

Anthem Written Upon the First Anniversary of the Curiously Poetic Altoids

Many the meters,
Abundant the rhymes
That our pens put forth
In that golden year's time.

Noble the feeling
And witty the verse
That our hearts sang out.
Oh the sorrow! the mirth!

So subtle the humor,
So cunning the wit,
So artful the rhymers
Who imbued them therewith

That perhaps the generations to come
Shall remember them for it,
Saying, "Those were the days
And those were true poets."

Yes, perhaps our words
Will have earned us a place
In the pantheon of poesie
Full of grandeur and grace.

But probably not.
And it's better, too,
Since naught could result
But the ruin of the true.

And already we have
All that we need
--our friends drawn the closer,
our poetic thoughts freed.

So we'll sing on for the ages
For the art, for the rhyme,
And we'll sing for each other --
Since each other's just fine.

To Josh, upon finding him absent to an opera on poetry night

While you were waxing operating
We at Alta were dramatic
In our woeful desperation
For poetic inspiration.
No rhymes would come; we all were wrecks
The thought itself's enough to vex.
And so until your full confession
We will suffer from depression
Desperate for poetry.
Please grant this fond wish for me!